


Puzzle of the soul untangled by explosion

by 8fred9



Category: James Bond (Movies), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: 006-007 being weird as usual, After Skyfall, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, BAMF Q, Claiming, Eve having the time of her life, Fluff and Angst, Gift Giving, M/M, Pack Cuddles, Possessive Behavior, Protectiveness, Q isn't impress, Scent Marking, Slow Build, Supernatural - Freeform, Werewolf Bites, Wolf-006, Wolf-007, beta by an angel of mercy, courting, not telling what Q is right now you'll have to read, violence against ex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-25
Updated: 2015-09-19
Packaged: 2018-01-26 12:48:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 51,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1688912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/8fred9/pseuds/8fred9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two werewolf's attempting to court one Quartermaster, before realizing how truly precious he is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Puzzle of time

For Bond there was before and after M. Before M was a time of peace for his mind and soul. A time when he had been sure of his place in his universe and where his very being had been in accord with the rest of him. He knew what his place was, he knew where he belonged, and he knew what he had wanted out of his life. It had been a chaotic structure that had made so much sense to him that, now that the chaos was wrecking his control, he only just realized how little control he had had. M had been the one with the control, the one who could pull him out of his head and into reality...now it was simply too late to try and understand how she had been able to do so.

After M was a chaos that should only been found in hell, a chaos that left nothing for his mind to cling to. It was a white emptiness that devoured his sanity as each day passed slowly without any fixed point to hold unto before drowning. After was misery and pain that he hid behind a cold mask of indifference. He had cried once as he had held the woman who had been his world in his arms, but now the tears couldn't come forth. There was nothing to allow his feeling to flood through his mind; he was the monster in the shadows only waiting for the time he would be allowed to destroy the world. 

His gaze had been fixed on the wall, not really seeing the repetitive patterns of white on white that covered the wall in front of him. He was lost in his own thoughts, his mind far away, while his body stayed on high alert, ready to strike in case of attack. An attack that was quite unlikely to happen in the middle of MI6, but a double-0 was always ready. A small movement at his waist had his focus turn toward the second reason for an unlikely attack. Sharp grey eyes turned to him looking at him in worry. The gigantic black wolf sprawled on the sofa next to him, with his head on his lap, whined a little, asking for attention that Bond happily gave. Caressing the wolf’s ears between his fingers, the agent felt himself settle a little, but only a little at the small contact. 

"I'm all right." The wolf gave a little snort, clearly not believing him, but settled himself more comfortably, stretching his long body. This had been another problem after M. Before, Alec had been able to spend much more time in his human skin, but since her death the wolf was very rarely in human form. It caused chaos all across MI6 every time the gigantic black wolf, with his white sharp teeth and his sharp, deadly grey eyes, decided to go for a walk. Especially if Bond wasn't at his side to warned people off. Bond, for his part, hadn't wornhis wolf skin for as long as Alec had worn his human skin. It was the difference in being born as human or wolf. As 007 wasmore comfortable as a man, Alec was more comfortable as a wolf. 

Then there was the little fact that since both agents needed each other for their own sanity, the only missions they had been assigned to had always been together. Which also meant that they had been on fewer missions than they usually would have. That little fact made both man extremely dangerous, as it meant that they had too much energy coursing through them asking for release that they couldn't get without being apart from each other. So they trained, they ran, they spent most oftheir day in the shooting range - anything to keep their minds away from the fact that they were both slipping into insanity with each passing day. They both knew what would happen to them the moment they slipped, the moment the darkness living in them was released. They would die.

Not right away, no, because putting down the two most dangerous agents of MI6 would never be an easy task. They would be hunted, they would be tracked, and they would leave so much destruction behind them that the world would burn down with them. They weren't even sure if the new M knew the time bomb he had roaming his corridors...probably not. If he knew just how close the two man were from slipping, he would have ordered their deaths the moment he had replaced M as head of MI6. 

As the wolf tensed and rolled to hide his belly next to him, Bond knew they would soon have company. His hearing wasn't as good as Alec’s in his wolf skin, but he soon heard the soft sound of light feet hitting the floor and moving toward them. He already knew it would be another double-0, as no mundane would dare approach a room filled with not one but two werewolves. His assumption was confirmed as 004 entered, a little smile on her face. She was by far the smallest of all the double-0’s, with her huge eyes the color of grass, her light brown hair and small pointed ears poking through her enormous curls. She gave a little nod in their direction, a littlecryptic smile playing on her lips, but knowing better than to move too close. The little fae moved like her feet never touched the ground, her small frame gliding across the room as she made herself a coffee. Bond and Alec looked on as she added a truly disturbing amount of sugar to the drink, so much so that the double-0’s doubted very much that the content of the mug was even still liquid. Still not approaching them, 004 went to lean against the wall 007 had been staring at before her entrance, still looking very pleased with herself. 

"Anything we can do for you, 004?" Clearly she wanted to talk or she would have simply walked out. He didn't like many of the double-0’s, but 004 was one of those rare persons who it was almost impossible to hate, which also made her an exceptionally good killer. None of her victims ever saw their end coming, always thrusting into the little fae until the blade came out to slice their throat. Pulling out a lollipop from her pocket, the small woman’s smile turned smug and she sipped at her coffee, making Alec flinch (clearly he could smell the sugar from where he was).

"We got a new Quartermaster." Alec's ears perked up at the news, his whole body turning toward the small fae in attention. Even Bond sat a little straighter. This was news, interesting news.

"What happen to the old one?" The man had been like an old Santa Claus with his round figure and white beard. If not for the fact that he had a voice filled with so much authority that an army general looked like a little schoolgirl next to him, the man would have been almost fatherly. Still, the man had been a fixture of MI6 for so long, even thinking of someone replacing him was almost impossible. 

"He retired, said he didn't want to work for a bloodsucker." 004 answered sweetly, unwrapping her lollipop and humming happily (from the sugary smell that reached both agent, Bond guessed it was watermelon flavored). "He's super-young and completely adorable! He gave me a lollipop for returning all my equipment and gave 008 a new shield for the field."

Now Bond was impressed and interested. The old Q had been a mundane and had had very little patience for learning anything about the different personalities of the agents under his care. He had been an excellent Q, but wether the agent was a fae or a Valkyrie had never been a concern of his - as long as the mission was successful, then he was happy. But that this Quartermaster had given a sugar-addicted fae a lollipop as a reward and a deadly Valkyrie a new shield already showed acaring nature that had been lacking in Q-branch. "Is he a mundane?"

"I...don't know actually." 004 tilted her head to the side, her lollipop in her mouth as she drank more coffee (how the small woman could pack so much sugar in her and not die from her sugar rush would always be a mystery to them). "He doesn't smell like a mundane, but his smell is just...off."

"How so?" Bond was getting more and more interested in this new Quartermaster. Alec was also paying great attention (which meant he appeared relaxed, his whole body still lounging, but his whole attention was on the small agent, very focused). The little fae hummed softly and shrugged like she couldn't really explain it.

"He just smelled different. I don't know - I didn't ask him. I don't know much actually." Which meant she did know something and was trying to make Bond ask for more on his own. Even off the field, a double-0 stayed a double-0, and information was never easy to get out of them.

"What DO you know then?" Alec growled a little, getting annoyed with the game, but 004 seemed quite pleased at herself for having the man ask for information. Her pearly white teeth bit down on the lollipop, breaking it with a loud crunching noise that filled the room. Downing the rest of her coffee and swallowing the remains of her candy with it, she smiled smugly.

"I know he's been hired as Quartermaster because he hacked into MI6 from an Internet café and filled M's inbox with spam mail just for fun." With that she walked back to the sink and rinsed her mug before walking to the door to leave. She stopped just before leaving, her lips still turned into a smug smile as she revealed the last part. "And I know that Mama Bear said she would kill anyone who dare lay a hand on him."

Bond eyes widened slightly, the only visible sign of his surprise as 004 walked away. The last piece of information was indeed the most interesting one, although anyone who got on the new M’s nerves deserved all his respect, and from the wolfish grin Alec was giving him, the wolf agreed with him. The news that Mama Bear, the most feared shifter in all of MI6, was already so protective of the new Quartermaster was much more interesting. Looking at the wolf still lounging at his side, Bond raised his eyebrows and a rare real smile filled his lips.

"What do you say we go pay our respect to our new Quartermaster?" The gigantic wolf was already jumping down from the sofa and trotting toward the elevator before Bond was even on his feet. This would at least make for a nice distraction in an otherwise mission-less day. Pushing the button for the basement, they rode silently, an electric feeling of anticipation coursing through them.

The moment the doors opened on the Q-branch floor (very deep into the depths of MI6’s underground relocation), both agents froze. The new Quartermaster definitely wasn't a mundane. The smell that attacked both agents had them frozen on the spot. It was like the most divine fragrance Bond had ever smelled in his entire life. The first note that hit them was grassy, almost like walking in a forest still filled with morning mist. It was mysterious; he could picture the forest in his mind, filled with old trees reaching up to touch the sky, their roots enormous and plunging down into the ground, the forest floor filled with green moss for miles. The second note of the fragrance was more subtle, just a touch of something bright - if the sun would have had a smell, it would have been that. Soft but radiating its light through it all, and dangerous if you get too close to it. The last note was what had the wolf next to him panting hungrily: it was prey. Something that asked to be caught and possessed, a prey to be claimed...by them. 

They moved as one, entering the heart of Q-branch, their gazes looking for their new prey with anticipation. Q-branch was mostly filled with mundanes, all of them slowly freezing as the realized that their realm had just been invaded by two werewolves on the hunt. They might not have realized that the two beasts were hunting down prey, but they could read the danger in their poses. They both looked like they were about to attack, their legs ready to run if their prey tried to escape them and ready to jump or tear through any obstacle (In this case, the obstacle would be the mundane who dared get in their way). 007 sharp-ice blue eyes travelled over the mundanes looking for their prey as Alec did the same, a soft growl coming from his throat as minutes passed and they couldn't guess which of the people before them was theirs. One of the mundanes reached for her earpiece and spoke in a shaky voice,clearly wishing she could hide under her desk.

"Quartermaster, please report to Q-branch." Her voice quivered a little as the gigantic wolf’s attention snapped to her and a small whimper exploded from her throat as she finally did slide down to hide under her desk. Everyone else stayed still, their eyes never leaving the two werewolves. A sharp voice exploded behind them and they both startled (a very small movement of shoulders for them a show of great surprise) and turned to face the man they hadn't even heard approach. 

"What are you doing here, 006, 007? You are not to be sent on a mission and thusly do not need to be outfitted for a mission, so please get out!" The man standing before them was indeed very young. He had unruly curly hair that fell over his face,only stopped by his large black glasses. His sharp green eyes looked at them from head to toe (or paw, in Alec’s case),clearly unimpressed with what he was seeing. The rest of his body was covered with a very large cardigan and baggy pants, but his hands looked fragile with long white fingers, and...he was barefoot. His white feet rested fully on the ground in a challenge, saying he wouldn't run away and would protect his domain. Now that they had their prey in front of them, his smell was even more powerful, something in it calming both agents down. "Well?"

"We simply wished to introduce ourselves to our new Quartermaster," Bond replied sweetly, not wanting to leave just yet. At the Quartermaster’s raised eyebrows and snort of disbelief, he wasn't buying it or Bond charming smile. 

"I've read your file, 007. You would not be here if you didn't have a mission, and although it is very nice of you to want to introduce yourself, I also doubt that you had anything but mischief in your mind when you decided to come down here."This man was definitely more interesting than a white wall. Bond took a step toward the smaller man, but the Quartermaster didn't move an inch. Challenge in his eyes, he even walked right into the agent’s space, making him take a step back. Both agents startled a little at that as the younger man’s voice turned cold and dangerous. His smell turned sharp like the forest was filled with snow. "Don't scare my minions."

Bond was about to reply, but one of the female minions squawked in surprise, and the Quartermaster’s attention turned to her, taking a step away from the agent. The sharp green gaze turned to the werewolf standing next to Bond, and 007 saw the younger man’s eyes bulge a little before his mask of indifference was back in place.

"And please, 006, please either find some clothes or change back. This is not a strip club." With that, the younger man turned around, walking away from them like he was sure that both agents would follow his orders and leave. Not understanding the Quartermaster’s last statement, Bond looked down to see that his friend was indeed sitting on the floor in his human skin and quite naked. Alec only just seemed to realize it himself as he looked down at himself and than looked back up at Bond with his eyes slightly wider (extremely surprised, then).

"What are you?" Alec’s voice was rough from not being used as much in the last month, since he had mostly been in his wolf skin and Bond had been doing all the talking. The Quartermaster turned, looked at them from over the computer screen he had been looking at like he couldn't believe they where still there.

With his sharp tone and a glare in his gaze, the younger man simply stare them down. His eyes travelled over 006 like he wasn't sitting naked on the floor of Q-branch and then to 007 like he was a whole new kind of nuisance that he just knew he would have to deal with sooner of later (from his expression,he would very much like for it to be later). When he finally deigned to answer the question, he had finished his work with his minion, but still took his time asking that another minion to at least find pants for the naked agent (if only to preserve the modesty of the woman of MI6) and then his voice turned tosoft a caress over their skin as the simple word filled them with hope.

"Q."

 

_067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_

 

Q only allowed himself to relax and breathe once the two double-0 agents finally left his territory. He had made sure his minion had found a pair of sweatpants for the naked wolf, before he had finally placed his foot down and shouted them out of Q-branch. He had seen the way the two shifters had been looking at him, like he was a prey. A look he had seen many times before, and that to him only meant danger. 

Every time a shifter with the skin of a predator came close to him, Q would feel the need to submit, to bare his throat and let the predator claim him. A mistake he had only done once, but that he had paid dearly for. The very first man who had approached him with the glint of possessiveness in his eyeshad been a dashing fox shifter. The man had been charming, charmingly manipulative, knowing exactly how to push Q's button until he had had the smaller man under his control. It was only by luck, his quick reflexes, and his brain that he had escaped a permanent bond to the fox. Although, thinking of the scars that still covered his back, luck had taken its sweet time to come around. He still thought of the day he had meet the damn fox as the most unlucky day in his entire life.

Now every time he saw that glint in a predatory shifter, he knew better than to simply show his neck and let them take over him. His very being crave the dominance, wanted to simply let the predator protect and take care of him, but he now knew better. Now he knew that a predator’s only wish was to break and destroy, instead of caring for a more fragile creature. So the moment he had been faced with the two agents, his face had morphed into the glacial mask he hid behind at moments of high emotion. He wouldn't bend in front of the two agents, he wouldn't kneel for them, and he would never let them see his true form. That was another mistake he had made with the fox, showing him his animal skin, another mistake that he now wore on his skin, like a terrible reminder of his own stupidity. 

"Well, that was interesting at least. I've never seen a double-0 in such a state of undress before." Since he had heard her coming into his office (even though she had tried to be as quiet as possible), Q didn't even move and simply sighed. His head was resting at the back of his plush chair in his office, which he could have sworn he had locked before moving to his desk. Opening one eye, he watched as she lounged on his hard sofa, where he had slept on most of this week nights. 

"Bloody annoyance the both of them really."

She chuckled softly, looking at him with a little smile. "You've only just meet them, Q, you could have at least given them a chance."

"Eve, I've read all of there files and my suspicion have only just been confirmed. Why on earth would I have given them a chance?" There was challenge in his tone as he looked straight at the woman lazily playing with her hair. Eve simply patted the sofa next to her and he obediently went to sit next to her. She pulled him in, a little snort escaped her as she saw his barefeet, but as usual didn't comment on it, knowing full well he was more comfortable that way. Every Quartermaster of MI6 had had their little quirks and no one was about to question their new one’s quirks when he had already done such a good job turning Q-Branch around in the two months he had been there. 

"Even so, sweety, you have now picked their interest, and I'm afraid picking the interest of double-0’s is a rather dangerous past-time, especially when those double-0's are 006 and 007."Snuggling against the taller woman, Q sighed, knowing full well that he had probably made a mistake by being so openly hostile toward the two agents. But their smell had made him want to roll on his back and offer his belly to their sharp teeth. He simply couldn't allow himself to look weak in front of his agents and especially not in front of those two agents. 

"I'll try my best to be more civil the next time I see them, just to be sure to kill all interest they might have." Eve looked at him with raised eyebrows, because they both knew the damage had already been done. "Or I'll just avoid them until it is absolutely necessary for me to speak to them."

"Oh, yes, encourage the wolves to chase you around, that will definitely make them less interested in you, my sweet." The sarcasm was dripping on the woman’s tongue as she fluttered her eyelashes innocently at him. Poking the older woman side with his finger so she would stop looking at him with such a face, they both started laughing as a giggle escaped Eve.

"Fine then, what do you propose? That I simply roll over, let them have me, and once they’re tired of me, hope that I won'thear of them again?"

"God, no! Fight them, shoot them if you have to, but don't let yourself be caught by those two. These two are more animals then man." Humming in agreement, Q let Eve play with his curls happily. He would still stick to his plan of avoiding the two double-0-agents as long as he could, unless he was forced to face them again.

As it turned out, when two werewolves were in the mind of hunting him, avoiding them was turning into quite a game of hide and seek. In Q-branch, his scent was all over the place, so he could move freely around without either of them being able to hunt him by smell. This proved useful as he found himself tip-toeing around one or the other on more than one occasion. The first time Q spotted a black wolf stalking in between his minions’ desks, he simply slipped behind said wolf, slowly following close behind him. It was quite exhilarating to loom over the wolf as he looked for him. Q jumped on a desk and skipped away to the sound of an angry wolf growling loudly at not being able to find his prey. With Bond it was another matter altogether. Since the man stayed in his human skin, he could actually bully his minions into giving him his location. But on the other hand, Q had control over all the cameras and doors of his domain, which meant he could lock the door of whichever room Q found himself in to plan his escape before the agent could open it. It was a joy to see the agent’s confused face at only finding the Quartermaster’s clothes but never the man himself once he watch the footage hissing safely in his office.

Then there was the hunt outside of Q-Branch. Outside, they could track him down by scent, but that was something Q had happily found a ruse against. It was an exhausting one but still worth it to see the two agent trying to chase shadows around the different levels of MI6. Arriving much earlier in the morning, Q enrolled the help of 004 and Eve for his plan. Giving them both one of the cardigans he wore more, they started to walk around MI6 for hours all in different location and always as far away as possible from the actual location of Q's meeting for that specific day. It was then a game of avoiding the two agents as they tried to track his scent across MI6 as he calmly made his way around them and to his meeting. Eve had pointed out that Bond might be very bad with computer but that he could, however, still track the Quartermaster’s schedule. Q had simply shown her his schedule and she had giggled at seeing that all his appointments over MI6 showed that he was having those meetings in M's office. Since both agents hated the man quite firmly, the likeliness of them ever going on that floor where slim. So for the next weeks or so the game continued, with Q running circles around the two double-0’s, until the call he had been dreading finally came.

"Q, I'm sending 006 and 007 to Q-Branch. They are to be outfitted for their new mission, and you'll cover the coms in case of trouble." M's voice brooked no argument, and Q agreed readily, wondering how his second meeting with the double-0's would go.

 

_067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_

 

Alec was getting quite frustrated with the lack of result that their hunt was providing for them. The only good thing about it all was that for once, since both werewolves hadn't been allowed to go on missions without each other, he hadn't felt any boredom. Every time the scent of their Quartermaster filled his nostrils, his entire body shivered at the idea of having the younger man finally in his grasp. But so far, except for the one time they had meet the younger man, he hadn't been allowed near him again. Oh, he would smell him all over MI6, even could feel the other being’s gaze on him every time he had tried to track him down in Q-Branch, but never once had he been able to actually catch him. 

He had been quite surprised the first time he had been in the presence of the younger man to find himself in his human skin without even trying to change. Usually it was much harder for him to return to his human skin, but the smell of the smaller man had enticed him into changing without any difficulty, finding the desire to actually use his voice for once. 

He spared a look to his friend standing stoically next to him. They had taken a break from hunting for the day as a call from M came to them. He only caught a little bit of the conversation, not really in the mood to suffer the bloodsucker’s voice, but the part he caught made him grin, showing off his white sharp teeth. For once, his change from wolf skin to human skin was done smoothly (which he had noted was helped by the ever present scent of their prey). Bond handed over the bag he had hidden in the room with clean clothes and waited until Alec was completely dress before they both moved toward their prey, matching predatory smiles on their lips. Normally Bond wouldn't have bothered with clothes, as Alec rarely changed into his human skin at MI6, preferring the safety of the flat they shared. But since he had found himself surrounded by the smell of his new Quartermaster almost every day, he had found it much easier to change, and sometimes even changed without noticing. So his partner had started hiding bags of clothes all over MI6, trying and most of the time failing to cover 006 in clothes before anyone could see him naked. Not that the wolf minded, he had always been more comfortable naked, he hated any kind of fabric on his skin. This was why, as they both entered Q-Branch, James wearing his usual sharply cut suit that hugged every part of his body like a second skin, Alec looked in comparison like a biker with his black combat boots, faded jeans full of holes, a tight white t-shirt and a brown leather jacket. He was the shame of the usually sharply dressed double-0-agents and absolutely adored it. 

It was almost a shock to see Q standing behind his table at the center of Q-branch, two suitcases in front of him and a bored look on his face. Alec had expected that he would have to chase the man around his domain before finally being outfitted for their mission. But here he was, as if he hadn't been avoiding the two agents for the past weeks. His gaze was hard and his face was a mask of professionalism. If he was pissed at having to deal with them, it didn't show. Both agents stopped in front of the table, facing their Quartermaster, Bond with a small seductive smile on his lips and Alec with a mischievous smile promising chaos. With a sigh, the smaller man opened the first suitcase and started handing James his new toys.

"Your earpiece, that will be connected directly to mine and is also your tracking device. This mobile will help you hack into any computer and will also allow me to have access to any technology surrounding you." The earpiece was in a small black box ready to use and the phone looked like a standard one, but the fun started with the gun Q then pulled out. "This particular gun is coded to your fingerprint and DNA only, so if anyone other than you tries to use it, it will block and be useless, and...."

Alec grabbed the gun and, pointing directly at his partner’s head, tried to shoot him twice. Bond didn't even flinch, simply looking at the werewolf with a roll of his eyes. Q, for his part, stared at them like he couldn't even believe Alec had actually just tried to shot his best friend.

"Neat, do I get one, too?" The long-suffering sigh that escaped the Quartermaster was almost cute as he pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand and took the gun away from 006 with the other.

"And I am now happy that I decided at the last minute not to encode 006’s prints and DNA into your gun, 007." James and Alec both stared at the Quartermaster with slightly raised eyebrows. With a sigh once again making him look adorable, Q elaborated tiredly. "As you are always working on mission together, I had thought that being able to use your partner’s gun could be useful to you, 006, but I am now happy that I decided against it, as I would have hated to have one of the minions wash wolf brain from my floor."

There was a moment of silence and to every minion now observing them, it looked like both werewolves were about to attack their boffin until a little snort of laughter escaped Bond and Trevelyan chuckled softly. Q pushed the suitcase toward Bond so he could repack his own equipment and turned to the other, ignoring both laughing agents. He was clearly thinking that all double-0-agents were crazy. Since Alec usually got the same equipment as Bond, he was a little surprised when Q pulled out an holster - not one like he had ever seen before, armed with three glistening blades, a gun, and what looked like cherry bomb.

"As you seem to prefer moving around in a wolf skin, I have adapted your equipment to your preferences. This holster, once worn correctly, should stretch to accommodate your animal skin, so that if a change is needed you won't find yourself naked AND defenseless." Reverently holding the holster between his fingers, the agent tested the stretch of the material, marveling at its flexibility and softness. "Since your guns are allowed through customs, but it says in your files that you generally prefer knives, these blades have serial numbers that will allow you to bring them wherever you go without problems."

"They don't let me keep them on planes, even when I say it’sfor their carboard steak." Bond snorted, clearly rememberingthe particular mission where Alec had used that exact excuse for bringing a sword along.

"These three AND only these three will." Q gently pulled one of the knives out to show a row of numbers on the new and sharp blade. "Those numbers are registered in all the airports in the world and will allow you to bring them anywhere, and I really do mean anywhere, 006."

If it weren't impossible for a double-0 to use the L-word, Alec would have used it right then and there to express the emotion that was coursing through him at that precise moment. Than he remembered the cherry bomb and was almost afraid to ask.

"What about those?" Holding the little pink balls in his hand, he remembered using those in the bathroom of his orphanage once. "I remember some nice things to do with them, but nothing that would help me with terrorists."

"One of those could destroy a car. Please do use them with some sense of control if at all possible. But do use at least one, as they were built for you specifically to use and haven't been tested in the field yet." Alec looked up, startled, and a little smug smile touched the Quartermaster’s lips. "I have read all of my agents’ files, 006, and your love of explosives and fire are quite legendary. I would be a terrible Quartermaster if I wasn't giving you equipment that would allow you to use all of your strengths in the field."

The agent was struck, simply looking at the younger man with respect. He had wanted to see the man as prey, a simple thingto hunt and then discard when bored, but he couldn't seem to now. This man had actually taken the time to think on how he cold make his agents more effective in the field, had though of their preference, and had actually built equipment fitting all of them. He was also sure that the reason James’s gun was fitted to his fingerprints was because of the number of mission reports showing that 007 had been more than once shot with his own gun turned against him. He had himself written (or bullied someone to write while he narrated) in his report how many times he had been in a position of weakness as he had had to change from wolf to human without any weapon at his disposition. Peaking at the silent man next to him, Alec knew that James was thinking the exact same thing as he turned his new gun in his hand. This man standing in front of them was much more than a prey animal and had just gained, probably without even realizing it, the respect of two of MI6 most deadly double-0-agents. 

"Off you go then, I'll be monitoring your every move, and my earpiece is always turned on. So do please consider this when you decide to seduce your next bedpost notch, 007, or when you turned to your canine counterpart, 006." The younger man was clearly ready for them to leave, but Alec had other plans. Moving faster than a normal human could, he jumped on top of the table, crouching so his face was leveled with Q’s, and took a handful of his cardigan, pulling him closer. "What are you...?"

His gaze fixed on the sharp, startled green eyes of his Quartermaster, he smiled slowly, unmoving until James moved around the table and was behind the smaller man, efficiently trapping him between them. Q turned his head a little when he felt Bond press himself against his back, his initial surprise turned into a glare, clearly not liking being trapped. 

"Well, James, how should we thank our dear Quartermaster for those new toys?" Alec growled, keeping a firm grip on the smaller man now that he had finally caught him.

"Oh, I do have a few ideas." James murmured seductively, plastering himself to their Quartermaster’s back. 

"How about you get out and leave me alone?" Q asked, his chin raised in challenge as if he wasn't trapped between two growling werewolves. The rest of Q-Branch was silent, clearly not knowing what to do to save their boss. 

"But then that wouldn't be really nice, would it, James?"

"No, it wouldn't," James answered easily, looking at Alex as his chin rested on top of the Quartermaster’s head. Bond had a little smile playing on his lips as he seemed to be following Alec's lead in this. There was a fine line that should never be crossed between hunting prey and courting prey. But since the agent didn't feel like he should be hunting the smaller man and he certainly wasn't ready to simply let him go, courting was the best solution for all. Plus, if the courting was accepted, then the little green eyes’ wonder would be theirs. That thought alone had the wolf in him purring, and a dangerous smile played on his lips. Sharing a look with James, they both nodded in mutual understanding, and James took the Quartermaster’s wrist in his hand, raising it up. "So we definitely should give him something in return."

"WHAT!?!" Q startled as Alec agreed. Rapidly changing his position so he was now sitting on the table and keeping the slimmer man close by encircling his legs around both his waist and James, he pulled out his dog-tag from under his shirt. He was always wearing them, be it in wolf skin or human skin, because they were a reminder of his past life before MI6 and very close to his heart. Without looking away from the now visibly confused Quartermaster, he placed them around the white, slim neck before him and than bent over to place a chaste kiss on the exposed skin. Q tried to pull back, but he only found himself closer to James, who had taken his watch off his wrist and placed it around the Quartermaster's. The watch had been given to 007 by M and was probably the only piece of jewelry he had ever been careful never to lose. Just like Alec, he leaned over and gave a chaste kiss to the younger man’s wrist. Looking at a very confused Q, they looked at each other nodded and, taking their suitcases, moved away from the younger man as one. It wasn't until they were almost out of Q-Branch that their Quartermaster seemed to find his voice once more. "WHAT!?!" 

James didn't even turn, simply continued on walking like nothing had happened, but Alec did turn, blowing a kiss toward a furious looking Q and winking at him before trotting a little faster to catch up to his partner. 

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?!"

Alec looked at Bond as the elevator door closed. James seemed more calm and quite pleased with himself. The calm part was very welcome, and he leaned against his friend in a casual show of affection between pack-members. They had intended to only use Q as their new prey, but a brilliant green-eyed mate would be much better. He couldn't wait for the true courtship to start, and from the energy radiating from James, neither could he.


	2. Puzzle of courtship

Obviously one of the minions must have been worried at their Quartermaster’s refusal to move or talk after the departure of the two double-0-agents, because in the next moment (it might have been longer, but Q’s grasp on time was a little shaky at the moment) Eve was standing before him. She was looking at him with worry-filled eyes looking up and down his body, searching for injuries, but than her gaze fell on the watch and the dog-tag and widened slightly. To the Quartermaster’s surprise she didn't reach for the two object, instead she took his other hand in hers and pulled him a little closer to her. It was a simple, small show of support and it centered the younger man better than a slap to the face. When he finally turned his head to look at her, a little smile was playing on her lips, but there was still worry deep in her eyes. 

"Are you alright...Q?" The slimmer man had to smile as his friend had almost slipped and called to him with a term ofendearment. Nodding ever so slightly, he still frowned and pointed to his chest where the dog-tag rested.

"I fear it is quite silly of me to ask this, but since IT IS 006 who place those on me, would you mind very much making sure they won’t explode if I move?" Eve's eye widdened ever so slightly before a little huff of laughter escaped her. As her only answer, she pushed Q a little, making him stagger to the side. To his relief, he didn't explode on the spot, and his whole body finally relaxed. His shoulders slumping forward, Q stretched himself, feeling quite heavily the weight of Bond’s watch upon his wrist. 

"Who in their right mind would place explosive in dog-tag's anyway?" Eve asked as she slipped to his side, pushing him toward his office with a firm hand pressed on his lower back. Q noted once again that the woman was very careful to avoid touching either of the agent’s gift.

"I once rigged a paperclip to explode if it was pulled away from the stack of paper it was attached to," Q said breezily as he entered his office and made a beeline to his sofa. Sprawling himself on it as soon as Eve had closed the door, he looked up to see the taller woman shaking her head in amusement.

"Remind me never to let you give me any document with paperclips, you bloody menace."

"As if I would ever do anything to hurt you." His tone was a little affronted at the very idea, but Eve brushed it off, lifting his legs so she could slip under them, and then placed them back down on her lap. She patted his left leg, looking at him in apology; she knew very well he would never hurt her, but she did also enjoyed making him mad (apparently it was adorable, and there was always the chance that he would transform into his animal skin if he was pissed enough). Without even realizing it, Q found himself rubbing his thumb over the engraved name on the dog-tags and looked at his hand in surprise. Something was very wrong here. "So what are those exactly?"

Eve was also looking at his hand, and than her gaze drifted to the watch once more. She had a little frown on her face, clearly unsure as how to feel about them.

"Gifts showing an attempt to start a Courtship for a future mating." Her words were careful her gaze still drifting from the two gifts. Q was simply confused, for he had never ever been given any gift when the fox had made a move on him, never shown interest this way, and the courtship he remember had not been a pleasant one (if you could even call what he had been through a courtship). Something must have shown on his face, because when Eve's gaze settled on him once more there was pity and hurt in her eyes."Sweety, has no one ever explained to you...?"

"Who would have, Eve?" His tone was bitter, but she of all people knew him too well to ask this question. She indeed knew better than to ask, and turned her gaze away from him,hiding her emotion. She knew something had happened to him, that he couldn't have hidden from her, but she didn't know the details and never would if he had any choice in the matter. When she spoke again, her voice was steady, but she still wouldn't meet his gaze.

"A predator wanting to mate with his person of choice will start said claiming by placing upon him or her a token. The token is to be an object that is dear to the predator so it show's how serious he his about claiming his future mate and that he trusts said future mate to keep the token safe."

"That's the singular version. What happen when it turns to the plural?" Still not looking at him, Eve sighed, clearly not liking this part.

"Bond and Trevelyan seemed to have come to an understanding after...Vesper." That name froze the Quartermaster’s blood in his veins. Everyone who had read the report of that particular mission knew that Bond had almost retired for that woman, had almost left Trevelyan behind for her, which was even bigger than quitting MI6. Leaving his country and his calling behind was one thing, but leaving a member of his pack to fend for himself was unheard of for any werewolf. He still remembered reading about the rampage 006 had gone through after he had learned of the betrayal and still didn't know how the two could still work together. Eve kept on going, ignoring the turmoil of information and questions still coursing through the Quartermaster’s brain. "From what I could catch of it, they would only ever start a courtship if they were to both claim the chosen mate. They share everything, and a mate would have to be equally shared or else it simply wouldn't work."

"So I'm simply supposed to go with it?" Anger was back in his voice, anger was good.

"No! God, no!...but…" Eve finally met his gaze, and there was something there that Q couldn't read. "But maybe you could give them a chance to try."

He knew he was gaping at her, he could feel his mouth wide open and his eye going wider with every passing second, but he simply couldn't stop himself. Only Eve was allowed to see his true expression, and his entire body was too used to being allowed free reign in front of her to stop itself. Still, he was able to pull himself together, if only a little, so he could speak again. "You’re the one who told me to avoid them, that told me they were more animal than human! You told me not to let them catch me!"

She nodded in agreement. "When I though they were only in it for the hunt, yes, of course."

"Yes, of course!" Q gawked silently, hoping no one could hear him from the other side of the door.

With a sigh like he was being difficult, she pointed to the gifts, still very, very careful not to touch them. "All I'm saying is that those gifts are showing a more mature decision than simply chasing around their Quartermaster for some fun. I'm not saying just jump in bed with them and let them put their bite mark on you..." 

Q physically flinched away at the mention of bite marks, putting some distance between himself and Eve. He was curled at the other end of the sofa looking at her through his curls, a small growl rumbling in his throat. Eve was holding out her hands, trying to look as harmless as she could, but the worry in her eyes was now very present. "Q?"

Taking a deep breath, the younger man closed his eyes, calming his shivering and breathing slowly. He was over this, he had to be over this. He was the Quartermaster of MI6; he couldn't show weakness, not like this (not like he had done for months after he had been able to escape). Carefully opening his eyes, he found Eve kneeling in the floor next to him, looking small and innocent. He knew there was absolutely nothing innocent about this woman, but it did calm his animal self enough that he could look at her with calmer eyes.

"Are you alright my sweet?” Her voice was soft, so careful, Q could have punched himself for worrying her so much. Nodding, slowly he realized that in his scared state his hand had curled around the dog-tags and the other around the watch...interesting. His hands were hidden by his legs, so Eve couldn't see what he was holding on to, and he uncurled himself, letting them go before she could. 

"Sorry, bad memory." She simply nodded, she knew not to push, but from the look on her face she would if he ever reacted like that again in front of her. Taking a deep breath, he pulled her a little closer and she willingly came, resting her head on his leg even as her hand clamped protectively around his ankle. "What exactly would happen if I was to remove those gift right now?"

"Either they'll respect your decision and step aside, or the hunt will be back on."

"And if I keep them?" He was a little curious. This was all new to him and he had quite a bit of mix feelings about two double-0’s trying to court him. 

"They'll start the courtship." She was obviously waiting for him to ask, and Q sighed, resting his chin on the top of her head, taking comfort from his friend’s closeness. The dog-tags tangled close to her faces, and Eve inched farther away, doing everything she could not to touch them while still keeping contact with the younger man.

"Okay, and what is that all about?"

"It is extremely rude for another predator to touch a claiming gift. Rude enough that they could ask for a fight to the death if they smell me on it." Q looked down in surprise and placed the tags under his cardigan so they rested against his skin and well away from his friend.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" She looked at his wrist, and he pulled the cardigan over the watch so that it also rested against his skin. Happy that the danger of touching either of the gift had been remove, Eve relaxed against his leg once again.

"It might be a little of an overkill, but it also protects you from any other predator. Anyone stupid enough to approach you while your wearing those has a death wish. It's an old tradition that has survived through the passing of time so the mate chosen wouldn't be stolen by another predator."

"Wait, I'm pretty sure I heard of that."

"The great war of two kingdoms." Q looked down surprise; everyone knew that story, but he had never really paid any attention to it. "A great king fell in love with the princess of another kingdom that was being courted by another man. She was to be claimed, but he kidnapped her before her lover could place his mark on her. The king kept the princess for himself and marked her. It resulted in a war that lasted for twenty years. It destroyed kingdoms, families, and killed countless people. The war ended with the death of the princess, who killed herself so that her own children wouldn't have to fight in the war."

"I though it was a children’s story."

Eve hummed softly. "It has been quite romanticized over the years, but it did happen, and it was the principal reason for the rules we have today to be created. It protects the future mate from other predator wanting to claim them and force the predator to court his future mate instead of just throwing themover their shoulder and marking them." Q was having trouble processing it all, because it made sense, it was logical, but it also meant that what he had gone through should never have happened to him (he was angry and confused, wanted to lash out, but could simple stay quiet, his gaze drifting away). Eve squeezed his ankle to get his attention back on her." Not everyone still respects those principals, but doing otherwise is barbaric."

"How long is the courtship?" He didn't want to talk about his own experience, and for now changing the subject was the best option for him.

Eve seemed about to argue, but she sighed and looked away, explaining. "It depends, really. Knowing those two, they'll probably do it by the books."

Q had to snort at that. "We are talking about two agents who don't do anything by the book, why would this be different?"

Eve looked at him and reached out to caress his cheek."Because it's you, and because this is important." 

He couldn’t understand what she meant: he wasn't anything special and he still couldn't understand why the double-0's had even started this whole thing. It must have shown on his face, but Eve looked a little sad and just kept on talking, now being the one not wanting to approach the new subject. "An official courtship can last from a month to a year." Q startled, knowing full well that, at the very least Bond, a double-0 rarely had so much patience when it came to a lover’s conquest. "They have to show that they can provide, protect, and care for you. Although I have never heard of two predators courting one mate at the same time, this might actually be quite interesting."

"What if I don't wish to be courted?" It was all well and good to think about it, it was another thing all together to actually let the two agents court him (he was the Quartermaster, after all, and he was supposed to be the one in charge, not them). 

"Well, refusing the courtship before it even started is a little rude."

"You’re kidding me, right?"

"At least you could give them a chance to try, AND then if you really feel nothing for them, both of them, than give them back their courting gifts." Because, of course, it had to be the both of them…short of never having had one predator court him properly in the past he now had two. On the other hand, if he really thought about it and about the two men courting him, he could understand. Bond had almost abandoned Trevelyan for Vesper. If either of them were to claim someone again, it would have to be someone they both agreed on, someone they could share, someone that would love them equally. In their lives there was no surety of forever; either they died on the field or not. It was a gamble with every mission. If anything ever happened to either of them, the other would be left alone. But having a mate for the both of them, someone that would be there for them both if anything ever happen, was more precious than pack itself. It was just his luck that they had chosen a deeply damaged man who had no idea what to do with either of them to be that special person. 

"I'll try." It was soft and he wasn't sure if Eve heard him, but he felt her relax against his leg. They stayed silent, listening to each other breathing softly until Q heard both of his agents’ earpieces being turned on and started hearing them bickering over Alec's choice to use Q's knife to cut his fish...on the plane. 

Keeping his own earpiece on mute for a moment, Q pushed Eve with his toes and nodded toward her with a smile. He would be alright; he had to be alright. The taller woman smiled at him and moved to her feet, kissing his forehead and walking out of his office. Once he was alone, Q moved to his desk to see a truly alarming number of emails from his minions all worried about him. Not used to having so many people caring about him, Q smiled softly and started to reply to them, letting his agents’ voices washed over him. Switching the mute off his earpiece as Trevelyan was now ordering a raw steak from what sounded like a horrified stewardess, Q cut in before Bond could.

"006, please refrain from using the knife I gave you as cutlery." There was a long moment of silence, as apparently neither of his agents had been expecting him to be listening. Trevelyan was the first one to recover, and his teasing tone had the younger man’s eyes rolling in exasperation.

"You could call me Alec, Q."

"Yes, I could." He didn't say more and soon he could hear laughter from Bond. He didn't understand why they had chosen him, but he was still their Quartermaster, and right now he had a job to do that didn't involved any courtship. His mission was to keep his agents alive and bring them back home, and what those agents chose to do once home would be entirely up to them. 

 

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At the sound of familiar footstep, Bond relaxed his pose and spared a look to his partner sitting crossed-legged on the desk. Alec gave him a little smile, his gaze returning to the door as the handle moved ever so slightly. They both waited as they heard an almost-silent curse on the other side of the door. Clearly the Quartermaster knew they were both in and was weighing the idea of simply turning back, leaving the two agents behind. 006 started fidgeting a little, clearly wanting to simply jump on his feet and pull the younger man in, but 007 growled softly, keeping him in place. It was their Quartermaster's move and decision; if he turned away now he would be prey once more, but if he came in, he would have to face down the two werewolves. Bond’s own wolf clawed at his insides, wanting out. It wanted their mate in the room with them, but he stayed still waiting patiently. Just as Alec seemed to be about to lose the little control he had over himself, the door was pushed open and in walked their Quartermaster. With a scowl on his face, fury in his eyes and a little red of anger on his cheeks, the smaller man looked absolutely adorable. 

"Why are you here?" The tone was cold and clearly promised excruciating death if they didn't answer right away.

Bond simply nodded toward the desk and Alec grinned smugly pointing at their equipment lying next to him. "Simply turning in our equipment."

Q looked from one to the other, closed the door, and leaned against it, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he was fighting of a headache. Bond, however, was more interested in the telltale bulge around the younger man’s wrist and chest. Visibly, Q was still wearing his watch and Alec's dog-tag, even if they were hidden under his truly atrocious cardigan. A glance toward his partner showed that he had seen the same thing, and they both nodded to each other before their Quartermaster’s eyes fell on them again.

"You could have simply given them to any minion, why me?"The smile that slowly crawled over Bond’s lips had the smaller man shivering, already knowing he wouldn't like the explanation he was about to get.

"The pleasure of your company, and of course the pleasure of seeing your face once I explain to you what happened to my gun." At that, Q head snapped to the desk, and he was standing next to it in the next moment, seeing that Bond's entire list of equipment was indeed missing. Alec's holster, knife, and gun were still intact, if not showing signs of use. 

"What.happen.to.your.equipement.007?" The clipped tone and glare had the agent wanting to purr in amusement. He had always loved to see how far he could push people; he liked to see if they would stay by his side and deserved his love. So far only Alec and M had resisted the test.

"The earpiece was burned in a fire, the mobile was used to level a table at a restaurant and I forgot it there. As for the gun, well, it fell at the bottom of the ocean." Alec hid his grin behind his hand as Q stared at him and blinked slowly once, then twice. They both watched as the Quartermaster opened his mouth than closed it three times before finally simply giving up. His whole body relaxed and he crossed his arms, looking at the agent over his glasses.

"At least this time it wasn't a Komodo dragon, a volcano, or -and this one was truly my favorite one - the lion cage at the Bronx zoo." Both agents looked at each other and back at their Quartermaster with raised eyebrows. They had come in trying to get a rise out of the younger man, and had been expecting yelling and fury. But their Quartermaster was simply looking from one to the other with a calm mask hiding his true feelings. And from his smell, forest trapped in a blizzard, the man was indeed dangerously furious. "Was there anything else, 007? 006?"

"Have you actually read all of our mission files? Or was that just a rumor?" Alec piped up, looking at the younger man closely. Q stopped staring at 007 and turned his attention fully toward 006, his mask of indifference still firmly in place. 

"Yes, I have. That is how I know to never ever to give you tequila after two in the morning and to never ever let 007 over there have an exploding pen...ever again."

"But that must've..." Bond started slowly, getting more and more interested in the younger man.

"Taken me exactly two months to read all of the double-0's mission files? Yes indeed."Alec let out a slow whistle, looking a little impressed, and of course he then asked the question Bond had though but wouldn't have asked out loud.

"Why?" Q looked from one agent to the other, and his mask slipped a little, showing his confusion at the question. 

"What do you mean why? I am in charge of all the double-0's, and in all their aspects and designation every single one of you are different in fundamental ways. Not taking the time to learned how each and every single one of you works would be like giving tools to someone without telling them how to use them."

"So to you we are tools to be used than?" Bond voice was calm. He wasn't angry, he had been called much worse. But he was curious to hear Q's opinion of the double-0's. Most people saw them as mindless killers, beasts hunting for blood, or really anything but innocent.

"Or course!" No denial, the Quartermaster looked from one to the other like he couldn't believe the two agent had even though otherwise. "You are MI6’s greatest tools - or weapons, if you would prefer to label it properly. But even the greatest weapons have their weaknesses, you have to know them to avoid breaking them. This is no different than that. I needed to understand the weapons handed to me, so I would know their weaknesses and how to improve them."

Q pointed to Alec's holster, his face now quite serious and even his smell, now more forest in the rain, was more calming to both werewolves. "It is all well and good to simply keep a weapon as it is, but given the right information one can improve them and make them better."

"Oh, you could definitely make us better, Q," Alec purred, his face getting closer to the younger man, who looked at him, unimpressed. Crossing his arms over his chest as if he was stopping himself from punching the werewolf, the Quartermaster looked back toward Bond, ignoring the leer in Alec's gaze.

"Once again, was there anything else, 007?"

"Do you really know all of the double-0's agents as well as us, or should we feel special Quartermaster?"Bond chuckled a little as Alec asked the question in a seductive voice, the tip of his nose brushing against the younger man’s cheek. This time Q did flick his nose to get him to move back, glaring daggers. 

"Believe me, I know all of my agents as well as I do you two. Two werewolves, one fae, one Valkyrie, one mermaid, one dragon..." At that Bond startled a little, and even 006 lost a little of his playful smirk.

"001?" Bond asked carefully. Q looked a little confused before nodding slowly.

"Of course, 001. He is, I might add, much more civil than the both of you." Once again the two agents were left staring at the younger man as he looked from one to the other, not understanding their looks of shock. 

"You've met the great Smaug?" Alec asked in awe. At the look of slight surprise on the Quartermaster’s face, the agent leered playfully. "Surprised I could make a literary reference, Q?"

"I was going to suggest you had seen the movie actually, but where would you find the time between explosions?" 

Alec face was dangerously close to the smaller man as he smiled playfully. "I love reading in front of a fire. You should join me sometime." 

Bond looked on as the two men stared at each other. Alec had clearly tried to get a reaction from the younger man from his proximity and seductive tone, but Q was simply staring at him blankly, hiding his emotions behind indifference. So he cut in, still curious, "I though 001 was retired, or at the very least shouldn't be awakened unless Britain was in flames."

With one last glare to Alec, Q turned his head slightly,humming in agreement. "He is, but we had to relocate him after the explosion a the old office. At the time, M though it would be a good time to introduce us, and we had a nice diner together while his new hide-out was prepared."

"I'm sorry, did you just say you had…dinner? With...001?"Alec’s seductive tone had been dropped for a more disbelieving one. Even Bond was staring at the younger man like he couldn't believe he was still alive after such a meeting. 

"Well, when I say diner…001 ate a horse while I ate my salad. It simply seemed rude not to accompany him."

"Salad?" Bond asked, a laugh building in his throat at the picture of this skinny little man eating a simple salad while a dragon ate a horse in front of him.

"001 certainly wasn't sharing his meal, and I'm a vegetarian anyway." Both werewolves shivered at the idea of never eating meat, and for the first time the idea that the younger man’s animal skin might not be one of a carnivorous animal came to him. It wasn't the worst of things, but it certainly could be a problem in their courtship. Alec seemed to be thinking the same, as his face turned sheepish and a little sad.

"But..." Alec started before turning to Bond for help. Q was now very confused, his gaze going from one agent’s to the other. The younger man seemed to get it as his hand brushed the bulge where the dog-tags where resting against his chest.

"I don't mind the smell or people eating meat in front of me,006, I simply do not eat it myself." Alec sighed in relief and even Bond relaxed a little. It was something they would have to work around, but simply from speaking with the younger man, it seemed more and more worth the challenge to the older agents. "I also do not like wasting time that could be spent working, so really, if that was all, I would like very much to go back to work."

"It is midnight, Quartermaster, shouldn't you be heading home?" Bond pointed out calmly, and before he or Alec could make ay remarks about escorting the younger man home and maybe even staying over, the sharp tone of their Quartermaster cut them.

"I'll go home when it will truly be needed, and if not, my couch will suffice for me to sleep on. Now, once again..." Before Q could finish his sentence, Bond was on his feet and standing very close to the smaller man. Looming over him, he bumped their foreheads together softly and caressed the wrist where his watch was resting. Alec, understanding that they would leave for now, kissed the Quartermaster’s neck, smelling his fragrance one last time, and then followed Bond out. As 006 closed the door on the very still and very silent Q, he turned to Bond with a frown.

"Step two then?" Alec asked with a little smug smile playing on his lips. They had talked about simply jumping the younger man and forgetting the whole courtship, but Bond now wanted very much to have Q for themselves. He had proven to be caring when he had designed those special pieces of equipment for them. To be intelligent in his decision's and in the way he viewed the double-0's agents and fearless as he had talked about facing a dragon like it was nothing. They had both heard the stories about 001, and the simply fact that their Quartermaster was still alive and breathing meant nerves of steel and courage that few could even brag about (it was after knower by everyone that 001 had been the cause of five MI6 members death). Q was worthy of them, and they would prove to him that they were worthy of him.

"Step two indeed."

 

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Step two started quite early the next morning. Alec was wearing clothes (a miracle these days, but he wanted to be able to talk to the Quartermaster, so he didn't have a choice in the matter), Bond one of his usual pristine suits, and they both stood at the entrance of the younger man’s office. Said man was curled up on his sofa, that was clearly too small for his long leg, and sleeping soundly. He must have been truly exhausted when he had finally fallen asleep, as his glasses still rested on the tip of his nose and he had the same clothes on he had been wearing the day before.

"So adorable." Alec sighed as Q’s nose twitched a little in his sleep and he frowned at the sound of Alec’s voice.

Bond was grumbling unhappily next to him. "Unsafe. The door wasn't even locked."

Nodding in approval, Alec exchanged a look with his partner. This simply wouldn't do. Closing the door, Bond gave a mobile to the other agent, and then with one final nod, walked away. James would play his part, but now Alec had to play his. He went to hunt for some coffee and came back carrying a tray filled with three different types of coffee. The Quartermaster was still asleep, so Alec sat next to the sofa on the floor, stretching his legs before him. He heard the first minions coming in, shuffling their feet as they made their way to their computers, and the smell of greasy breakfast reached his nose. Q moved a little behind him, groaning unhappily as his face crunched up in a pain expression. Reaching over, Alec caressed his forehead with the tips of his fingers, wanting to calm whatever dream was bothering the younger man. As he was doing so, his thumb brushed aside some curls, revealing Q's left ear. He froze at what he saw, the wolf in him awakening with a growl.

The top of the ear looked like it had been ripped off, clearly the bite mark of another predator who had hurt the man lying before him. Trying to calm himself so he wouldn't shift and go into a murderous rampage trying to find who had done this, Alec didn't realize he was being observed. "What are you doing, 006?"

The voice was low, still filled with sleep, but as he lowered his hand, Alec was fixed with stormy green eyes looking at him with a frown. "Who did this?"

"Why does it matter?" Alec had to repress the growl forming in his throat; he didn't want to scare the younger man with his anger. Q was still looking at him, his indifferent mask already in place.

"Q."

"006." He wouldn't get an answer. He knew he wouldn't get an answer from the flat stare he was now receiving. Not wanting a fight and knowing he would find a way to get some answer some other way, Alec lifted his hands away and pulled back. He was here for a reason, he couldn't get sidetrack now or everything he and Bond had planned would be for nothing. Q was still lying on his side looking at the agent. Lifting the tray filled with coffee, Alec presented it to Q in silent offering. The smaller man’s gaze flicked from the coffee to the agent, and slowly he sat crossing his legs under him, making little pain noise as he stretched himself. Alec wanted nothing more than to go the him and massage his shoulders, touch his body, and take away the pain, but he wasn't allowed (not yet anyway). "Why are you kneeling in my office with coffee,006?"

"My other option to wake you up would have been much more pleasurable, but I doubt you would have appreciated it as much, so close to your minions, since I don't know how loud you can get."

"What...?" Q’s eyes widened and a blush covered his entire face as he gaped at the agent. The deep seductive chuckle that escaped the agent made the Quartermaster turned even more red, and his mouth closed with a very loud clicking sound. He watched with interest as Q gulped down, breathed deeply, and calmed himself enough to be able to look at the agent once more. Alec could wait, and he had enjoyed the sight of the younger man being flushed at his words - and his scent, forest bathed in the sun and filled with wild flowers, as he had been aroused had been exhilarating. 

"Coffee?" He made himself sound innocent, and Q glared at him for it. But nevertheless his hand finally reached for one of the cups, sniffing it carefully. The little grimace that appeared on the younger man’s face had the agent reach for the cup and replace it with another. Q let him without complain and this time when he sniffed the cup he hummed happily. What did surprise the agent was how Q gulped down the entire cup as if the beverage hadn't been scalding hot. Humming happily as he seemed to be coming slowly awake, the younger man blinked a little and than focused on Alec fully.

"Where's the other one?" Not fully awake yet then.

"Shopping." Alec smiled sweetly, refusing to say more. Huffing in exasperation, Q took the still untouched cup of coffee on the tray and sniffed it. He didn't look as pleased with this one as he had with the first, but apparently it would do as he started to sip at it more carefully. Padding barefoot across the office, Q moved to his desk, pulling out a new shirt and cardigan. He turned to Alec with a pointed look toward the door, but the agent simply shrugged. "Don't mind me."

"Out!" Chuckling, the agent moved to his feet and walked out,letting the other man change in peace. All he really wanted to do was curl his arms around the slimmer body, pick him up, and bring him to the flat he shared with Bond so they could all curl up on their bed. The Quartermaster clearly needed much more sleep and someone to take care of him, even if he didn't realize it yet. But for now Alec was contempt to wait outside the office as Q changed into new clothes. As the door opened, he saw Q slipping the dog-tags and watch under his cardigan and gave him a blinding smile. The only answer he got was a snort and a roll of eyes. 

Always staying close to the younger man, Alec stayed as a silent observer as Q milled around Q-branch. It truly was a thing to behold, as Q moved from computer to computer, looming over his minions. He truly looked to be in his element, a king surveying his kingdom with pride. Alec was truly impressed, as the Quartermaster always stayed calm, moving from one to the other, always there when any of them needed help. It was like second nature to him as he glided from one corner of Q-Branch from the other. Alec also noted that he made very little sound, if he really paid attention to it, he could hear a slight shuffle, but it was barely there. It intrigued him. He couldn't figure out which animal skin the younger man would wear once they could convince him to change for them. When someone looked at him or Bond, they could always guess what they were; it was there in their eyes, the beast watching right back, ready to pounce. It was in the way they moved, in the way they prowled in the corridors of MI6, in the way they reacted to certain situations. But Q was simply Q, there was nothing about him giving away what he was, and the more Alec looked the more he had the impression that it was on purpose. Q was hiding his animal skin from the world by acting like a mundane, the only thing giving him away being his scent and the fact that he was always barefoot. 

As time passed, another problem presented itself. The hour for lunch had come and passed, but Q still hadn't eaten anything other than the two cup of coffee Alec had given him. With a huff of anger, Alec scared the two mundanes that he was standing behind and turned his gaze to them with a dangerous smile. The man and the woman looked about to faint as he loomed over them.

"Go fetch food for the Quartermaster." It was an order, and they it took as such. Scrambling to their feet, they rushed out of Q-Branch. At the sound, Q looked over his shoulder and seemed surprise to see the agent still standing in the exact same spot he had since he had set up to work. Q glared at the agent as he spotted the two empty seats, but Alec simply smiled and shrugged like he hadn't done anything. When the two mundanes came back carrying bags of food, he took them and went back to ignoring them. Q was standing at his desk looking over some blueprints, completely lost in his thoughts. Placing the bags of food in front of the Quartermaster, Alec pushed them over under his nose before he though better of it. Q's whole face scrunched up in a grimace, and even Alec could smell it: meat. 

"006, that's..."

"Hush, I'll be back." That would teach him to ask a mundane for help (or order them, but whatever). Quickly picking up the bags and pulling them away, Alec stormed out of Q-Branch, growling at the two mundanes on his way. The bags were dumped in the nearest trashcan, and he went directly to the MI6 staff room. There weren't many people there, but all were mundane and all tensed as he made a beeline for the staff fridge. Looking over all the food labeled with different name, he spotted at least two salads that looked good enough to give to the younger man he was courting. Skipping over the fact that they both had names written over them (in big black letter) he picked them up and made his way back down. No one said a word, and no one would dare confront a werewolf over salad...well, unless they were suicidal, that is. 

Another growl escaped him as he came back to Q-Branch only to find out that Q wasn't there anymore. He had said he would be right back and he hadn't been gone that long, so where could his prey be now? Turning stormy grey eyes to the nearest mundane, he smiled as she yelped and pointed to the stairs leading farther down into the maze of tunnels of MI6. Making a little detour to leave the salads in Q's office, Alec followed his scent down. Through corridors, stairs, he finally found the younger man...surrounded by weaponry. He had never thought much about where the Quartermaster built all of their equipment, but it was heaven to the werewolf. The walls were filled with guns of all shapes and sizes. Knives, swords, shield, spears, trident, flamethrowers (oh hello, there!), everything was here. There were also some gadgets, weapons disguised as harmless everyday tools (he should inform James that there still were some exploding pens). There also was a car being fitted by some mundanes. In the middle of it all stood Q being presented with all kinds of weapons. Alec was stood still looking on as the slimmer man took hold of one of the guns(which look ridiculously big in his hands) and turned to a dummy before shooting twice. The dummy exploded in piece and Q nodded, slowly looking pleased.

"The calibration is better, but I want some more tests just to see if it could be used under more unstable situation. Send it to the testing field and asked 004 to put it through everything she can think about."

"Yes Quartermaster." The mundanes ran away with the gun as another was presented to Q. He went through four more guns, always with a perfect pose and a strong hold of his weapon, never showing any sign of fatigue or strain. Alec could see the recoil of the weapon vibrating through the smaller man, could see its strain at the corner of his eyes, but nothing showed to the mundanes surrounding their Quartermaster. To them he was showing his strong side, and he clearly wasn't going to let any weapon he didn't completely approve of out of the workshop if it could hurt an agent in any way. Taking out his mobile just as Q was presented with a flamethrower, he quickly snapped a picture, adoring the look of pure concentration on the younger man’s face and his perfect stance as he fired the weapon. He sent the picture to James after making it his new background and chuckled at the answer he got.

-"Very hot. JB"-

As the flamethrower was taken away, he started to make his way toward Q, just as the younger man was handed a little black box. As soon as those long white fingers hit a side button, Alec felt as if his hear drums were being ripped out of his ears and his brain was about to explode. Crumbling to the floor, he was blinded by pain, his hands going to his ears as a threatening growl ripped out of him. There were black spot of pain dancing in front of his eyes, his wolf was clawing at him to be freed and kill everyone in sight, his ears were ringing painfully, and then there was...nothing. Keeping his eyes close, he felt soft hands over his, keeping his hands pressed over hisears. A sweet scent filled with fear-filled his nose, and he leaned forward, hiding his face in a lean neck. The scent of fear disappeared as his body relaxed against the one holding him up, replaced by a calming one. The hands on his pulled them away slowly, and his hands automatically found a slim waist to curl around. One soft hand was holding his face against the long neck as the other one was caressing his hair. He could faintly start to hear the sound around him, but still couldn't hear the voice he knew was trying to calm him. He was kneeling on the floor, he was being held by Q who was caressing his hair, and then he heard his voice and whimpered as the soft tender voice filled his head.

"Hush, hush now...It's alright, you’re alright, everything is fine. 006? Agent Trevelyan, please talk to me." 

Taking a moment to enjoy the soothing contact, Alec melted more firmly in the younger man’s hold. He never let anyone touch him, hated it really. For years James had been the only one allowed to touch him like this. But here, being held by Q, being comforted by this ridiculously young man that smelled like a forest at dawn, he felt right. He didn't feel the need to pull away, to attack, to ripe the throat presented to him. He wanted to let this man take away his nightmares, let him hold him and hold him in return. 

"Alec, please.",

At the sound of his name finally breaching the lips of his Quartermaster, he pulled away a little, kissing the throat still offered to him, and smiled happily. "Say my name again."

"That's-!...not...no." Q looked a little pissed, but there was also relief in his face as his gaze still looked the agent up and down like he was searching for injuries.

Pulling himself to his feet and dragging the younger man with him, Alec purred a little, keeping Q in his arms. "Just one more time." 

He was pouting, he knew he was pouting and couldn't care less as he watched his Quartermaster waver at the sight of the pout.

"...Alec." A smile bloom on the agent’s face as he kissed the tip of the smaller man’s nose, only now realizing that the room was quite empty. Looking around with raised eyebrows, Alec looked down at the man in his arms. "I told them I would deal with you, and that they should run."

"That wasn't really safe." 

Q looked at him, puzzled, tilting his head to the side. "Would you have hurt me?"

Alec shuddered at the very thought, his hands tightening a little around the younger man’s waist.

"NO!" 

With a little huff of laughter, Q patted his cheek to calm him and smiled a little. "Then I was in no danger." 

That seemed to be that, as Q moved out of his grasp, picked up the small black box he had been holding before, and dropped it to the floor. Before Alec’s eyes, the Quartermaster took the flamethrower that had been laid on a table nearby and burned down the little black box until it was a puddle of melted black plastic. "And that takes care of that."

The agent looked from the little puddle to Q as the smaller man placed the flamethrower back on the table and walk around him to the stairs. That had been a little bit...well, arousing. 

"Coming, 006?" Q asked over his shoulder, and the agent didn't wait to follow his Quartermaster up the stairs. To his surprise, Q didn't protest as he placed a hand at the small of his back as they walked side by side. He actually didn't say a thing until they were in Q's office. Sitting at his desk, the younger man sighed and accepted the salad the werewolf offered to him, only raising an eyebrow at the name written upon it. Alec simply shrugged, looking on as the smaller man started eating. He wolfed down half of the salad before he finally slowed down a little.

"Hungry, were you?" It was teasing, and Q only glared at him over his fork, accepting the second salad without a word. Just as Q was finishing, mundanes started to enter his office, moving to take away his sofa.

"WHAT!?!" Q was on his feet and ready to defend what was his, as James walked in, directing the man to take away the sofa. "007, what is this?"

"Providing for you," Bond drawled as other mundanes came in carrying a slightly bigger sofa that looked plush and soft. As if it wasn't enough, they threw cushions that looked a lot like pillows on it, and one of them gave a blanket to Bond before running away with the rest of them.

"Could someone please explain to me what this is all about?" Q voice was calm, but Alec could see his temper shimmering on the surface, ready to explode. Strategically moving to James’s side, he smiled, letting the other man explain. 

"As you insist on sleeping here, it was our duty to make sure you were comfortable. We are thusly providing you with a more comfortable place to rest, as you would probably object to moving in with us just yet."

"YES, I WOULD!" 

Both agents nodded, they hadn't expected to be able to have the younger man move in with them just yet, and even when he would (and he would, they had no doubt about it), he would still probably spend some nights in Q-Branch. It simply wouldn't do for their mate to be uncomfortable. 

"Then for now this will do." Moving to Q, James draped the blanket over him, kissed his forehead, and moved away quickly. Thinking that now would be a good time for a strategic escape, they both moved out and closed the door behind them, before Q could realize that the blanket had been scented by both werewolves. They knew the exact moment Q realized it, because they heard his shout from the elevator. Alec, for his part, was grinning happily and looked at Bond with a cocky little smile.

"He called me Alec."

"Unfair," James grumbled, glaring at his partner. Alec simply shrugged. He didn't care that Q had been worried about him or had even thought him hurt at the time - he had called him by his first name and that was all the agent cared about. Then something else crossed the agent’s mind, and he calmed down, telling Bond about the younger man’s ear. As expected, his partner’s eyes turned into an ice storm of rage. They would have to deal with this.


	3. Puzzle of danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter setting things up....next chapter Q's animal skin (see if you can guess before I make the big reveal)

"He's going to go mental...it’s gonna be adorable." 

Bond looked to his partner with raised eyebrows, clearly looking quite unimpressed with the man who should have been tailing the Quartermaster back to his house and keeping an eye on him. For once the younger man had finally decided to sleep in his own bed, and Alec had been sent to finally discover the small man’s resting place. The very fact that the blond wolf was standing next to him right now looking innocent was a very bad sign. 

"He gave you the slip?" 

Alec held out a pair of black glasses between his fingers, his other hand holding the dog-tags and Bond's watch. Taking the glasses and the watch, the agent sighed, not happy at all. As they still didn't know what the younger man’s animal skin was, the very fact that he had given the werewolf the slip by changing into his animal form (in the middle of London, at night, placing him at the mercy of any predator) was worrisome. The other werewolf also looked quite displeased. They had tried to find out where the Quartermaster lived from his files...that had been quite embarrassing for everyone involved. Opening Q's files, they had both stared at the only two lines filling the single white page in the files.

__Q__QUARTERMASTER__

__SHAME ON YOU FOR THINKING THIS WOULD HOLD ANY INFORMATION__

On the one hand, both werewolves had been quite proud of the younger man for covering his tracks so well, but it was also very frustrating, as they didn't get any more personal information on the younger man. So it had been left to Alec to try and track the smaller man to his home. For the very first time since they had started to court their future mate, it had been the first time Q hadn't slept in his office (Q wouldn't say it, but he apparently loved his new sofa and pillows, always wrapping himself tightly in the blanket still smelling like the two werewolves). So while the blond werewolf had tried and failed to trail the Quartermaster, Bond had moved on to the second part of his plan.

"He's seriously going to be furious." Looking on as the builders finished taking apart the walls and doors of Q's office, Bond nodded slowly agreeing with his partner. He had tracked down all the original builder that had worked on the reconstruction of MI6 after the explosion, convinced them(threatened them with bodily harm) to come work at a truly appealing hour of the morning, and had then stood silently watching their every move waiting for them to finish the work. That their Quartermaster chose to sleep in his office was all well and nice, if said office was secured to the agents’ liking...which it clearly wasn't. The glass walls hadn't been bulletproof, the door lock had been extremely easy to pick - it simply wouldn't do. And since Bond knew that even when they would be able to move Q to their flat, the chance of the younger man sleeping in their bed every night was very slim, they both needed the office to be completely secure. So the moment Q had finally left MI6, Bond had been on the phone calling (harassing) the builders to get them to work on the new office (having it made perfectly clear that it all had to be done before Q was back). The night security team hadn't even batted an eyelash as the agent had led the team to the basement, knowing better than to try and stop the werewolf. 

Now as the builders slowly made their exit, not one of them even daring to look at the two werewolves and quite happy to simply escape their unblinking stare. Looking at the overall work, Bond was quite proud of himself. The simple glass walls had been replaced by thicker bulletproof, tinted glass, so Q could look out but no one could look in. The door that couldn't have stopped a child from breaking in was now a stylish wooden door. The wood of course covered a steel door that locked itself every time it was closed - someone inside the office could easily open it, but anyone trying to open it from the outside would need a key. Speaking of which…

"These are for you." Holding out a chain large enough to fit even a wolf neck with a single silver key at the end of it to his partner, Bond patted his own now resting around his neck under his shirt. Alec slipped the chain around his neck with a mumbled thanks, and they both stood still, waiting for the next part. 

It wasn't long before the first mundanes started to drag themselves in Q-Branch, all of them wisely circling as far away as they could from the two werewolves. All the mundanes gazes stayed on their screens, waiting for the inevitable chaos that would erupt when their Quartermaster would arrive. They weren't blind, it wasn't too apparent that the office had been changed, but the door and the two agents standing in front of it were the final tells that they had indeed done something that would have Q screaming in rage. His scent was the first thing to reach the agents, forest bathed in the morning sun as flowers still had pearls of water on them, washed over Bond as Q turned the corner. The younger man looked at both of them over his cup of Earl Grey, his gaze travelling from one to the other, and a little smug smile touched his lips as he looked at Alec.

"I hope you had a good night, 006?" Alec gave a little snort of amusement as Bond moved into the smaller man’s personal space. Q was wearing a pair of green glasses that clearly shouldn't be on his face, as they didn't do anything to bring out his astonishing green eyes. Taking them away, ignoring the protest from the Quartermaster, Bond took out the dark glasses Alec had given him and slipped them into place. "Thank you, 007."

Without a word, Bond gave the dog-tags to Alec, letting him place them back around Q's neck as he took the younger man’s wrist and slipped the watch back in place. "Please do try not to lose these again."

"Alec was there to retrieve them, and I knew exactly where they were," Q answered mildly, tilting his head so the blond werewolf could slipped the tags around his neck and, James noted, didn't complain when Alec kissed his neck and Bond his wrist. James was tempted to bite down on the slim white wrist, but a look at Q dissuaded him of it. The younger man was looking at him warily, his gaze fixed on the agent’s mouth with an unsure look on his face. Not liking the look, James simply kissed the wrist once more before letting it go again. 

Q waited patiently until both agents stepped away from him. It was a big improvement that the younger man wasn't glaring at them anymore every time they touched him. They still weren't allowed to kiss the thin pink lips that taunted them every time they moved or pouted at them, but it was a goal both men were working on. Making sure he could now move, Q looked from one agent to the other and passed them to go into his office. Alec gave his partner a mischievous smile, and they leaned against each other as the door closed behind Q. Holding out his hand up in front of the both of them, Alec slowly folded one finger after the other in a silent countdown. As soon as Alec's last fingers was folded down, the sound of furious shouting came from inside the office (James should have ask for soundproof walls, if only so they could have some fun in the office later).

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL!?!" James had to laugh as Alec hid his grin against his partner’s shoulder, his own shoulders beginning to shake in laughter as more very colorful words were shouted through the door. It was truly impressive the level of vocabulary AND languages the younger man could produce in such a short time as more and more shouting washed over them. James was smiling broader and broader as time passed and the shouting didn't stop. Alec, for his part, was clearly having the time of his life.

"Oh, he is just so lovely, James," Alec purred as Q started to swear in fluent Russian.

"He is indeed." The younger man had switched to Mandarin before there was a long moment of silence and than the door opened again to reveal a very straight-faced Quartermaster crooking his finger to invite the two agents inside. James pushed Alec in front of him, turning him into a human shield just in case, because there was murder in the younger man’s eyes. The blond werewolf went to sprawl himself on the sofa as Bond decided to keep watch at a safer distance and also closer to the door. Q moved behind his desk, sitting down without a sound as he bent down to remove his shoes and soaks. The younger man looked calm and collected as he placed the shoes and soaks in his desk drawer, before his gaze turned on the two agents. His smell was a forest in a storm ready to ravage everything in sight.

"Why did you feel the need to rebuild my office, 007?" James looked to Alec, but Q snapped his fingers at him, getting his gaze back on him. "006 was trying to tail me, do not look at him, as I am blaming you 007."

"The office wasn't safe. I made it safe." There was no other explanation to it. Q was clearly not impressed by his explanation, and if his glare was any indication, Bond had better try to do better or he would be dead soon. Alec was clearly enjoying it all, as for once he had an alibi proving he wasn't the reason behind Q’s cold anger (so enjoying the show was his only option). "MI6 last offices have exploded, proving that it is was possible to infiltrate the building. The new installation might be underground, but they are not fully proofed. Your protection as our mate and as the Quartermaster of MI6 comes as our first priority. So as I said: the office wasn't safe, and now it is."

As another thought filtered through his mind, James moved to Q, holding a small key chain that he had had customized for the younger man, holding a single silver key. The key chain was simple, silver just like the key, shaped in the form of a Q with two wolfs on each side with their head thrown back as if howling to the moon. The younger man took the key with a frown. "You'll need this to unlock your door, as it locks automatically every time it’s closed."

"Please leave." Both James and Alec froze at the complete sound of defeat in the younger man’s voice.

"Q." The younger man must have heard the despair in Alec's voice, as Bond couldn't even speak, completely frozen on the spot at the idea that he had pushed Q too far already.

"I am not saying forever, 007, I just need...space, please." It was against his nature to even move away from the smaller man, because his wolf was already seeing him as his mate, but he could understand. This man was a proud one, and he had had two werewolves worming there way into his life with very strong methods. So if the smaller man needed space, he could give it to him...if only for a short time. Moving toward the younger man as he nodded in approval, he was still surprised when Q moved around his desk to stand before him. "Thank you, James."

The joy of hearing his name spoken by his mate was only overshadowed by the Quartermaster’s next move. Leaning on his toes, Q kissed the agent’s cheek, patting his other cheek gently. The younger man knew what he was asking and was clearly rewarding the werewolf for accepting to give him some space.

"Call me when you'll need me again at your side." At Q's soft chuckle he looked at the younger man in surprise.

"You stole one of the phone from Q-Branch I suppose?" With a mischievous smile, Bond kissed Q’s wrist. Making sure Q's key to the door was in his pocket with some heavy petting, Bond turned around, closely followed by Alec, the blond taking his time to give the Quartermaster his kiss on the neck. 

This would be hard, but he could keep his distance for a little while, especially knowing that Q wouldn't be alone in any way.

 

_067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_

 

"006, I though I had asked for some alone time."

The black wolf lolled his tongue to the side, giving the younger man a wolfish smile. Q was glaring at him, clearly knowing that Alec had changed into his animal skin in his office since he had found the wolf in his office...with the door closed. Alec knew that his partner would respect the younger man’s wish for some space, but 006 hadn't made any such promise. Plus, he also knew that if he wasn't there to watch over their mate, there was no way James would be able to stay away. So here he was, looking at Q, who was clearly trying to calm himself as Alec simply looked at him happily. 

"The fact that you choose to appear in front of me as a wolf does not make me feel any differently about my wish to kick you out, 006." Barking happily at the younger man, Alec wagged his tail like an happy dog just to appear a little more innocent."You are impossible...but...dare I say, cute."

Barking again, Alec was looking at Q with his large stormy eyes. The younger man sighed, but when he left his office he opened his door a little wider, letting the wolf follow him around. The werewolf was quite happy scaring all the mundanes away from the younger man as he follow closely on his heels. He was very interested as 004 strolled in Q-Branch, happily skipping toward the Quartermaster only for her gaze to fall on the giant black wolf curled around the smaller man’s legs. Alec had tried to simply follow the younger man around, but it was simpler to wrapped himself around his legs, stopping Q from moving too much around and allowing Alec to take naps without being left behind.

"Quartermaster!" Q turned to see the small fae happily looking at him. 

"004, what can I do for you?" The little fae looked at the wolf once again and her gaze returned to Q, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I like you new pet." Alec growl softly in warning, but 004 was clearly unimpressed.

"004, please refrain from starting a war with my werewolves, if you would be so kind." The werewolf attention snapped to the Quartermaster at the mention of him and Bond belonging to him, but the younger man didn't even seem to notice what he had just said. Exchanging a look with 004, the small being smiled sweetly at Q.

"Yes, Quartermaster, as you wish, Quartermaster." As a reward Q pulled a package of licorice out of his pocket and gave it over to the small agent, who squealed happily (really, if Alec hadn't seen the fae with a gun, he wouldn't believe she was a double-0 agent). 004 jumped so she was sitting on the desk next to Q and away from the jaws of the werewolf, happily munching on her licorice. "Actually, M sent me here to be outfitted for my next mission."

"I didn't receive any notice of this, 004, give me a moment."With Q turning around and going toward his office, Alec attention snapped to the small fae smiling down at him.

"His werewolf, are you, wolfy?" Snapping his jaw at the other agent with a little yelp of joy, Alec nodded his huge head."Well, no one can say nothing interesting ever happens around here."

Nothing interesting - nothing interesting in an explosion, in a crazy man killing the previous M, in all the things that had happen in the last months. He gave the small fae a disbelieving look, but the being simply shrugged, munching on her fourth licorice. They both turned as Q came back, looking quite displeased.

"Damn bloodsucker and his secretiveness." If Alec had been in his human skin, he would have either been laughing or hugging the younger man for his nastiness toward the vampire that was trying to rule over all of them. "You indeed have a mission 004, and if you'll follow me downstairs I'll outfit you with the weapons you'll need for your mission."

Alec was about to follow them, but bad memories about a black little box froze him for a moment. The moment was enough for Q to notice, and motioning for 004 to continue on, the younger man kneeled on the floor in front of the werewolf, ignoring the worried look from all the mundanes surrounding them. If Alec had wanted to snap the smaller man’s neck, the fact that he was now kneeling before him would have made it easy for him to do so. Q reached for his massive head, petting his fur gently and making sure the wolf’s attention was on him (like Alec could look at anything else when Q was touching in so gently).

"You don't have to come if you don't want to, but just so you know, that little black box was not reproduced and it's blueprints have been destroyed. I would never let anything hurt any of my agents." Burying his nose in the sweet forest-scented curls of his Quartermaster, Alec growled happily, nuzzling at the younger man’s neck. When Q pulled at his fur to pull the large head back, Alec happily complied. He looked into deep green eyes that studied his face, clearly not caring about his gigantic teeth inches from his hand. "Alec?"

Making a little happy sound at his name being spoken softly, the werewolf happily followed the Quartermaster to the weapons room. In the room, the black beast stayed at the younger man’s side, quite happy glare at the mundane that had handed the black box over to Q in the first place. The mundane was a brilliant man, as he stayed very, very far away from the werewolf, always making sure to have at least a desk between him and the beast. 004 was handed her equipment and a big bag of gummies (as an incentive to bring back all of her equipment).

The rest of the day was spent either following the younger man(nipping at his heels when the werewolf wanted him to eat) or napping under Q's desk while he worked at his desk in his office. He wasn't really surprised to see the smaller man nodding off at his desk as he felt the pull of the moon telling him it was very close to the middle of the night. When Q moved to his sofa, curling himself under the blanket, and fell asleep, Alec stayed at his side long enough to make sure the younger man was deeply asleep. Changing back into his human skin, Alec pulled his clothes from under the sofa and dressed swiftly, not making a sound. 

Taking away the Quartermaster’s glasses to fold them away safely, Alec played with the smaller man’s curls, pulling them away to reveal long eyelashes. Sleeping Q looking even more innocent and small than he did awake, making the wolf inside the agent want to curl up around him and protect him against anything that might dare to hurt him. For now, Alec simply kissed his forehead, tucking the blanket more securely around Q's body, and closed the door behind him, making his way to his partner (James was probably at a bar not far from MI6 drinking away the sorrow of not being allowed near their mate, so it was 006’s duty to go and try to elevate his mood). 

 

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Q woke up looking around for his glasses. Fumbling around for them, he finally found them on the floor next to the sofa (so apparently Alec had been the one taking them away in the first place). Once his vision was reestablished, the young man frowned at the sight of his Q-Branch completely empty but for three minions still monitoring 004’s mission overseas. It was too late for him to be awake again; normally he would have slept through the night, so something must have awakened him. His gaze scanning the office, his eyes fell on the little red blinking light on his computer screen that should not have been happening. 

Rolling to his feet, Q moved to his computer, only stumbling once on his way to his desk as he opened his computer to pull out all the footage of the cameras he had hidden through MI6 (M definitely did not need to know about all of them, since he had the footage to half of them). Going from one screen to the other, Q couldn't find what had tripped his security system until he opened the security footage from the supposedly abandoned and sealed off corridors still present in MI6,forgotten underground. Looking on as the screen was filled by something that shouldn't even exist, Q was shocked to see one of those brick-sealed corridor had been pulled apart. Looking a little farther in the corridor, he saw five men all dressed in black making their way toward Q-Branch. How had they known about the entrance? How had they known how to navigate through that labyrinth of corridors? There really was only one reason, and that was a mole here in MI6.

Q reached for his phone to call the night security, since the building was now mostly empty except maybe for his minions and some other mundanes. As he was only met with constant ringing and no answer, he pulled out more footage and gasped at the sight before him. All three security agents were lying on the floor, blood pooling around their body. The doors behind them had been bolted, and looking a little farther, Q found another team of five men also all dressed in black making their way down toward him. He couldn't escape by the elevator, but he could trap the men coming down in it. His fingers flying over the keyboard, it was easy enough to bypass the elevator security and lock it in between floors, but it also made it impossible for him to escape. The team coming from the underground was almost at his door, and a sense of dread settled over him as the team passed in front of the weapons room...and didn't stop. They were all coming here, and if weapons didn't interest them, if all of MI6’s files resting above his head didn't interest them, than the only thing they could be looking for...was him. 

Running to his door, he was about to call for his three minions to come to safety inside his office before the men would be there. He was only opening his mouth, ready to shout, when he heard the sound of a gun firing two quick shots. He watch in horror as two of his minions (one small woman with black hair and one mousy looking man) fell to the ground, surprise frozen on their faces as blood splattered around them. His horror was complete as the third minion, Benjamin, if he remember correctly, turned toward him pointing the gun he had just used to kill the two minions. The man’s face was twisted into an ugly rictus as he glared at the Quartermaster, sneering at him. "Ah, the most gracious, Quartermaster! If you would be so kind as to stay there so my companions might join this little party, it would be ever so kind of you, really."

Q was still standing at the door, holding the door open, but all he had to do was let go of the door and he would be safe (thanks to Bond) - but he needed to know, if only the reason why his minions had had to die. 

"Who are you?" He was quite pride of his even and calm tone as he stared down his former minion, now turned crazy psychopath.

"NO! No, no, no, that's not what you should be asking! Not at all." Benjamin clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth angrily like a teacher disappointed in his reluctant student.

"Very well than, what should I be asking?"

"Whom I'm working for, of course!"

"Who.are.you.working.for?" Q’s tone was turning a little clipped, but he was losing his patience, and he could hear the other men coming up the stairs and toward them, so he didn't have time to waste.

"You know whom I'm working for! Why are you asking that?"The man was clearly mental. Taking a slow step back, ready to slam the door shut, Q watched as the psycho’s eyes filled with something very far from sanity. "Come come now, he missed you so much...little treasure."

Q felt as if his heart was pierced, his lungs ripped out of him and his head crushed as the once familiar nickname filled him with horror. Letting go of the door, he heard the gun in Benjamin's hand going off as the door slammed shut on his rictus of pure bliss. Feeling pain pass through his shoulder, Q looked down to see blood pouring from an open wound left by the bullet that had passed through and through into his flesh. He barely heard the click of the door locking itself up as his vision started to blurr. He could hear the team of men shouting outside of his office, could hear them talking about explosives, but all Q could care about was trying to focus on his phone. 

Clearing his mind, the young man took deep breaths, calming his pulse, calming his mind so it would only focus on one task (it was hard enough to stop his mind from going through all possible scenarios of his own death). Focusing enough to remember the one phone number he needed in this moment before everything slipped away, Q hoped and prayed to all the God's that he could reach his one and only hope. He really hoped the ringing he could hear was from the phone and not from the pounding in his head.

"Q! What did I do right for you to call me this soon? It’s..."

"James." The agent stopped speaking, probably hearing the distress in Q's voice, probably even hearing how desperate he must have sound as he watch his own blood run through his fingers. "James, I'm about to be kidnapped."

The phone slipped from his hand. He could hear Bond shouting at the other end of it and could even hear Alec shouting his name, but he couldn't make himself pick it up again. His hands were shaking, his eyes going blurry, his mind couldn't focus anymore, but he had one last thing to do. With a final effort he pressed down a series of keys on his computer, unlocking the elevator, because he needed his agents to be able to reach him...even if it was to find his dead body. Feeling his animal skin pulling at him, asking to be released in this moment of panic, unable to fight it away, Q blacked out feeling everything change around him as he stopped fighting and let his body change into his animal skin.


	4. Puzzle of change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! So so sorry! Fluff and happiness coming I swear! AND 006 meeting 001....terrible idea really.

"James, I'm about to be kidnapped."

One sentence and the agent’s whole world came to a grinding halt. He had been sitting at the bar with Alec, drinking his whiskey, looking on as his partner nurse a bottle of vodka. It had been a long day, a long day of respecting his Quartermaster’s whishes for some time alone. A long day of staring at himself in the mirror across the bar, the only bar close enough to MI6 to be bearable for him, and it was all crashing around him. His facade was slipping, his control was getting away from him. He could hear Alec shouting the younger man’s name, trying to get their mate back on the line, but here was only silence. Silence that was soon replaced by the sound of plastic and glass being crushed into the werewolf’s palm. Looking up at the reflection, that so far had only shown him a calm man looking back, he now saw the beast inside of him. His eyes, naturally so blue, now looked like a storm had settled over them. His face had turned hard, calculating and murderous. No emotion filled his heart, his thoughts only turning toward vengeance and his hand hitching to feel the familiar weight of his gun. He didn't have to say a word, simply moved to his feet and toward the door, ignoring all the mundanes, who maybe didn’t knew what was happening but knew to hide as far away from the two werewolves as they could. Murder was in the air, they wanted blood and would take it from anyone who dared place them self across their path. Alec had already changed, a black shadow at his side. They worked better this way, him with his gun and Alec with his fangs. 

They slipped into the night, moving faster than a mundane eye could follow, keeping to the shadows, their advance lost into the sound of the chaos of the night. Standing before the building, they moved as one. Entering, ignoring the smell of blood and death coming from the bodies on the floor, they moved on. One man, one single puny man, had been left in front of the elevator doors standing guard. One single soldier against two monsters - he didn't stood a chance. As James’s bullet pierced his skull, slipping in his brain and coming out the other way, Alec's fangs closed around his throat, almost snapping his head away from his body. Neither of them paused at the body. Bond took the dead man’s gun, slipped it into his belt behind his back, and pressed the elevator button with the muzzle of his Walther. The elevators doors closed on them and both took a side of the door, away from the opening, ready to spring into action as soon as the door opened. Looking at the gigantic wolf on the other side, they exchange a look. No one who had dared enter here tonight would be left alive. M would have asked them to at least keep one alive (if only for questioning), but they hadn't called M, they hadn't called anyone, and no one would stop them.

The moment the doors were opened enough for the wolf to slip through the cracks, Alec was off. James could hear shouting, guns being fired, but he waited until the doors were completely opened, still hidden before moving. As expected, one man was on the floor, his leg pressed between his hands as he tried to stop the blood gushing from the bite the wolf had taken from his flesh. The other man, who had probably been guarding the door, had his back to the agent, looking toward where the wolf had gone. Raising his Walther without a pause, Bond shot the man on the floor and waited to see the horror on the other man’s face as he turned toward him before shooting him, enjoying the pattern the blood formed on the wall behind him. He took the gun from the second man and tucked it next to the one he had borrowed from the dead man upstairs. He could still hear shouting, panicked voices asking for help. Oh, he would help them alright. Looking around, he spotted the control panel on the wall and turned off all the lights in Q-Branch. 

He had closed his eyes just before, and when he opened them again he could see the men fumbling around, their only light coming from the few computers still turn on, the weak light of the screens illuminating some of their faces in a blue light. Four computer screens… James knew Q wouldn't be pleased with him, but he raised his gun and fired at them, one after the other until there was only darkness. If the wall of screens Q adored so much had been turned on, he would have felt guilt, but as it was it was only some of his minions’ computers, so he was sure his mate would forgive him. The men were fumbling around in the dark, amateurs really - they hadn't planned for this kind of attack and their eyes weren't used to the darkness yet. Staying close to the walls, James watched as a figure was dragged down and away by a furred beast, one less to think about. He did here the man scream as he was ripped apart, but his focus was on his next victim. Without even a pause, he fired twice, taking out the two men closest to the exit by the tunnels. None would escape. As the bodies fell to the floor, one more man was dragged away by Alec and screamed his last scream (the whole of Q-Branch would look like a slaughter house once they were done). The five men left regrouped, not so stupid after all, in front of Q's office door. Four of them making a meat shield around a man resting on the door. The man resting on the door seemed quite calm, and soon his horrible face split apart and a rictus of pure insanity appeared, lit up by his mobile phone.

"Am I to assume that this little display of MI6’s finest skills comes from the dreadful duo of 006 and 007?" His voice was dripping with amusement. Without answering, James moved back away from the light and felt Alec move to his side. The man clearly hadn't been waiting for an answer as he just keep on talking. "I must admit your display was quite impressive, but you must let us get our prize and go now!"

"I don't think so. "James had just enough time to move as the four men pointed and fired their guns toward the direction his voice had came from. The man with the horrible face laughed like he was having the time of his life. 

"Oh, but you really must, or else who knows what will happen to dear 004." Alec froze at his side, a low growl escaping his mouth as he lowered himself to the ground, ready to attack. "I might have given her location to some friends of mine, and they might have pay her a little visit."

"Why should I care?" Again he moved away from the bullets fired his way, but his patience was slipping. Why did villains always felt the need to gloat and monologue to him?

"Maybe you wouldn't, the great and powerful 007, but what about dear little Q? You know he would give himself up for his agents, why not let him have his wish?" James and Alec moved as one. Bond raised his gun, taking out the two men of the left and Alec jumped the two on the right, tearing them to pieces and dragging one of them away screaming. The man leaning on the door was still smiling, but there was a touch of doubt in his gaze as the agent loomed over him the muzzle of his gun resting just under his chin.

"I would sacrifice every soul in MI6 for my Quartermaster."His voice was clipped, slow, and dangerously calm as he looked the insane man in his eyes. The doubt in the man’s eyes was slowly replaced with relief, a very misplaced relief.

"And now you've killed all my man, so you'll have to keep me for questioning, and...Oh, the tales I have on your sweet Quartermaster." Such misplaced relief indeed. 

"M would have asked me to keep you alive, but there one thing you have overlooked." The man’s phone dropped to the floor,plunging them into darkness once more as James leaned over to the man ear and whispered into it ever-so-softly, "I didn't call M."

His finger caressed the trigger as the man’s eyes filled with fear, his whole body started to quiver, and James pressed down. He could almost follow the trajectory of the bullet as it entered from under the man’s jaw, travelled into his brain, and came out at the top of his head to lodge itself into the ceiling permanently. Pushing the body to the side as it fell forward so it wouldn't block the door, James waited, all his instincts on high alert. It could be a trap, there could be more men, waiting ,hiding for him to open the door, so they could access the Quartermaster. So he waited, not making a move toward the key around his neck, and waited. Alec came to his side and sat, looking him straight in the eyes: it was clear. Nodding to his partner, James pulled his key out and pushed the door open. 

They were both hit by the smell of blood that filled the room. The smell of blood didn't bother them, it was a constant part of their life, it was a smell that always lingered around them. But the smell of their mate's blood was strong, had the wolf in them quivering in anger, and they both wanted to tear those men apart all over again. Crushing his instincts down, the agent moved to the pile of clothes on the floor, seeing the little lump under them and pushed the clothing aside, taking in the small creature before him. It was small with dark fur and breathing so fast James was afraid to even touch it. Alec whined in pain next to him, and finally he reached for the small body and tucked it in his arms. The fur was covered in blood, the small creature’s eyes were closed, and he seemed to have trouble breathing. Turning around, leaving the chaos and the blood behind them, they both ran as fast as they could toward the one place all double-0-agents dreaded. Medical.

 

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"What the hell happened!?!"

M was passing up and down the corridor, shouting every single question that passed though his mind as none of them were answered. Bond was guarding the door to the room they had ushered them into, not letting anyone inside except for the one lady doctor that had been reasonable enough not to ask that the two werewolves left. The door to the room was now closed, the doctor looking after the small creature as James loomed behind her, keeping an eye on the door. Alec could feel his partner was barely holding himself into sanity, but only by a very fragile-looking thread of self-preservation. He himself was still in wolf skin, his entire body wrapped around the small creature still hyperventilating and buried in his black fur. The doctor hadn't said a word about it, moving the little being carefully, trying to see what she could do.

The other doctor, the one that had been there when they had arrived, had been foolish enough to try and take away Q from them...he now had a bullet in his knee. So Alec, James, and Q had taken residence in the first empty room they had found. His partner had placed Q’s small body on the bed and Alec had wrapped himself around him as James took his place between the bed and the door. The lady doctor had knocked - smart lady- before his partner had allowed her to come in, and she had raised her hands up, showing she was unharmed and had made herself look as small as she could. She was old, a mundane, and grey hair covered her head, but she was also calm and took great care in moving Q around. 

"I'll be honest here, as long as the Quartermaster is in his animal skin, I cannot do anything. The wound isn't bleeding anymore, which his good, but I cannot know how bad it is until he changes back...let's just hope he does so soon." Both agents had looked at each other. Q was unconscious, hyperventilating, and too small to be operated on. He had lost a lot of blood, but they couldn't do a blood transfusion on him since they didn't know anything about his kind. So the doctor had stepped away,asking that they called her as soon as the younger man awakened or changed, and had slipped away. Than M had arrived, followed closely by Eve, and the chaos had started all over again. The head of MI6 was shouting, trying to understand what had happened in Q-Branch, while Eve had moved to the door, staring down Bond from the small window on the door. 

Leaving them to their showdown, Alec looked at the small creature resting against him and took his time taking him all in. Q was small in his animal skin, small enough that he could have been held in the palms of Bond's hand. He had the body of a bunny, a small black creature, his fur as dark as Alec's, so he could have been invisible through the wolf fur, if not for two things. One was his antlers, as white as snow coming out of his little head and the second being his wings: a mixture of black, white, and green feathers coming out just over his shoulders. The wolf could see small fangs, wolf fangs, poking from his lips, and the small creature had little white claws. Alec was sure that if Q opened his eyes now, he would still have those dazzling green eyes completing the picture of the most adorable mix and match of creature he had ever seen. Nuzzling the little head, mindful of the antlers, he could see long eyelashes resting on the bunny's cheek and whined softly as the little creature’s breathing stopped for a fraction of second before going back to hyperventilating.

"What is he?" James voice snapped Alec's attention back to the mayhem happening around him, and he saw that Eve was now inside the room, resting her weight on the door as M kept pacing outside, shouting on his phone. The tall woman wasn't looking at his partner, all her attention on the small body resting against the wolf. 

"Wolpertinger. That's what he told me the one and only time I saw him like this." Both agents kept on staring at her, waiting for more. "There isn't much more to tell really. They are as rare as dragons, if not more. I looked everywhere I could, but there really isn't much information on his kind. They are secretive and don't generally trust people to see them in their animal skin."

Alec turned away from them. He didn't care about all this, he wanted Q to open his eyes wanted his mate to be better. He hated to see him so small and unmoving, to see him so fragile looking. He wanted to be glared at, to be yelled at, anything but this. His gaze fell on the small creature ear, the same he had seen when he was in his human skin. The little bunny’s ear had been torn, and Q was missing half of it, as the other lay pristine next to it. The younger man had shown his animal skin to someone before, Alec knew as much, but that someone hadn't taken care of the treasure that was Q, and had abused the gift he had been given. 

Feeling a hand on his head, Alec looked up to see James moving around the bed and behind them, looking over he saw M standing next to Eve with his arms crossed and a glare in his eyes. Looking over at his partner, Alec noted the gun hidden behind his body, lying on the bed, and the other resting in the agent’s hand. James was still protecting them and would happily shoot the vampire if he stepped too close. 

"The whole thing was an inside job: they knew what they were looking for, they knew the guards schedules, and they knew when they would have a chance to grab the Quartermaster." The bloodsucker was simply stating the facts, but Alec growled unhappily, not liking the odds that this wouldn’t occur again. James seemed to share his thoughts as his other hand moved to touch the small body of Q. "You could have at least kept one alive for interrogation!"

"No." James’s tone was low, his eyes still quite murderous, so M wisely dropped the subject. "Did you get in contact with 004?"

"Yes, she was injured, but was able to get away from her assailant...they tried to capture her with iron weapons." Eve tone was clipped, showing just how much anger was boiling under her placid facade. Alec whined at the mention of iron -no creature liked the metal, because it burned their skin, and if ingested could kill any skin-changer or mythological creature. Only a coward would use iron against a fae. "She's on her way back now. She said she had some information she got from one of her attackers, but wanted to talk in person. MI6 has been compromised, and we now know we had one mole, but we might have more."

The bloodsucker could try as he might to reign over MI6, but since the previous M’s death, everyone had turned to Eve. She was the scariest skin-changer in all of MI6, and only her loyalty to the vampire had kept him alive so far. As they all pondered the possibility of a mole inside MI6, a little distressed sound caught everyone’s attention. Q’s eyes were opened wide, looking around in a frenzy. Alec didn't move a muscle as pointy antlers stabbed his side or as claws pierced his skin; he kept himself calm, not wanting to scare the little creature even more. The little being seem lost, still in shock,half wanting to bury itself in the wolf fur, but his wings kept moving like he wanted to escape. James dropped his gun (he still had one hidden behind his back, after all) and moved in front of Q, blocking the others’ view of the panicked creature.

"Q." As soon as Bond’s hand was close enough to the small creature to reach, Q bit down on the agent’s hand with a little hissing sound. Alec looked on as his partner’s gaze softened and his voice lowered to the sound of a gentle caress. There was blood trickling from his partner’s hand, but still James used his other to caress the small creature’s fur, trying to calm it down. "You’re safe, Q. No one will touch you now."

Forest green eyes slowly moved up Bond’s arms until they were staring into calm icy blue ones. Q's breathing calmed down, his little body relaxed, and he withdrew his fangs,licking the palm of James’s hand in apology. Softly taking his time, Alec nuzzled the small creature’s side, and was please when Q bumped his little twitching nose with Alec’s much larger one, showing affection. Eve and M took one step toward them and Bond had his gun raised toward them in the next moment.

"Move and you die." Q made a little clicking noise that sounded very disapproving, his green eyes glaring at Bond like he couldn't believe he was threatening the head of MI6 and his friend. The agent shrugged, keeping his aim on the two steady as his other hand caressed the small white antlers tenderly. "Q, love, could you change back so the doctor can see to your injuries?"

The little creature closed his eyes and let out a long-suffering sigh. For a moment nothing happened, and silence filled the room. But in the next, Q was sitting on the bed, leaning heavily on Alec, his legs crossed and very naked. His curls going in every possible direction over his head, his large green eyes looking around owlishly, he looked a little confused and very pale. Eve was already calling for the doctor as Q smiled down sleepily at James and than closed his eyes, tipping to the side. His partner had just enough time to grab for the younger man before he could have fallen to the floor. Plastering the younger man against his chest, both agents saw the field of white scars covering their mate's back. In all shape and sizes going from his shoulder to the lower part of his back, these spoke of torture. Taking off his suit jacket, Bond covered the younger man in it before laying him on the bed as Alec scooted over to give him some space to do so. 

Changing back into his human skin, Alec stayed at the younger man side (completely ignoring the fact that he was also very naked) and touched Q's cheek with the tips of his fingers. The pale skin…the smaller man’s skin was usually pale, but this was too pale. He could almost see the veins through Q's skin. His breathing was shallow and slow and his heartbeat was weak under the werewolf’s palm. As the doctor took in the younger man’s vitals, the frown that appeared on her face was worrying.

"He needs a blood transfusion, he's lost too much." Both agent offered, but she shook her head sadly. "I don't know his blood type, and I wouldn't risk putting even a drop of werewolf blood in his stream without knowing what effect it would have."

Mundanes’ blood was easy: it had its type and you simply had to know which type you were to get a transfusion. But a skin-changer or any mythological creature’s blood was different,and when faced with a case as rare as Q’s, the doctor was baffled as to what to do. If they put any kind of blood into the Quartermaster that didn't agree with his DNA, he would either die from it or worse, go into a coma. Alec had curled himself around the younger man, trying and failing to keep him warm as Bond looked on the brink of insanity. Eve was the one to break the silence, her voice unsure.

"001."Both agents’ attention snapped to her in unison. Even M looked at her in surprise. "If you need blood for Q, you'll need to get 001."

"How do you even know that?" M asked, frowning at his secretary, but all of Eve’s attention was on the two werewolves. She held out her hand, blocking any more question. She was staring at them, daring them to even question what she had just revealed.

"I'll go." Bond’s voice was dangerous, and Alec knew it wouldn't do either of them any good if his partner went anywhere in the state of mind he was.

"No, I'll go. You stay here and watch over Q." James was about to argue, but the moment his gaze meet the blond wolf’s,his mouth snapped shut and he nodded. Kissing the younger man’s forehead (it was covered in sweat as fever was attacking Q's body), Alec clapped his partner on the shoulder and went to hunt for clothes and weapons. He would go meet the terrible Smaug and come back with him or die trying.

 

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Everything was dark and cold. He felt like was buried alive, his whole body feeling trapped, heavy. He had trouble breathing, his eyelid felt heavy, his chest felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on it. He had felt like this once, a long time ago,and knew this was death knocking at his door. Once again he was alone, abandoned to die on his own without anyone even carrying that his last breath would be taken in the silence that surrounded him. 

"Q?" This was new, a new voice in the silence. The first time there had been only silence and death watching over him, so why was there a voice now? He had survived the first time, on his own, without anyone’s help. It had been hard, he had though of giving up so many time...maybe he could give up now. "Q!"

It was hard, like fighting his entire body, but he was finally able to open his eyes. Everything was dark, but he was lying on something soft, there was beeping to his right and light came from a small window. Definitely not the alley where he had thought to die that very first time. A face appeared over his, and for a moment it stayed blurry (where the hell were his glasses?), but than it came closer and it was clear. Icy blue eyes, like the Arctic ocean, soft and adoring, with just a little bit of worry in them looking down at him. Rough, calloused hand that could kill a man in seconds, caressing his neck softly. James.

"I'm cold." His words were a little slurred, but he was quite proud of himself for speaking them. His mouth felt like molasses and his tongue was heavy in his mouth. He watched as his agent took his socks, shoes, and shirt off. Pulling the covers away, Bond slipped next to him, and immediately the werewolf’s natural heat crashed against his cold skin and enveloped him in warmth. "Nice."

Nuzzling closer, he would have thanked Bond by wrapping his heavy limbs around the warm body, but he was too tired and comfortable to do so. One of the werewolf’s big hands was plastered on his back, keeping him close as the other caressed his hair and neck, tucking his head against the wolf’s neck. Q did note as an afterthought that he was naked, but for some reason couldn't care for the moment. He was warm, his agent would protect him against death lurking around, and he could relax. His body felt heavy, but he could let go, right?

"Q, stay with me!" The sharp tone snapped his attention back to his agent, but sleep...or something more permanent was tugging at him to close his eyes. 

"Don't....wanna." A shiver passed though the body against which he was resting, and it gave him pause. Bond was afraid, he could smell it if he really paid attention to the wolf’s smell -he was afraid and worried. His Quartermasterly nurturing instinct came forth, and he needed to reassure his agent, but couldn't even move his arms, so he asked for the only thing that might help. "Talk to me."

"About what?" Bond’s tone was tense, but he seemed relieved that Q was still awake, so he pushed for more.

"Anything, just...talk...or I'll sleep." The strong, powerful arms around him tensed at that, and Bond took in a deep breath that once released made the curls on Q's head move around and tickled his nose. 

"I was going to leave Alec for Vesper." That did grab the younger man’s attention, and Bond kept his gaze away from him as he talked, caressing his back absentmindedly. "The first time I saw her I knew she was special. There was something about her that made me want to leave everything behind...now I know how foolish that was. She didn't even smell like a potential mate, she simply was something new and fresh I felt I could get attached to. If she...if she hadn't died, I would have left with her, I would have abandoned my pack and Alec. We never talked about it, Alec never even broached the subject, he knows, but would never put it back in my face. I was foolish, and my own guilt over it all is enough for him."

"That's...not nice." Bond huffed a little laugh and curls tickled his nose again, but he still couldn't move so he let it be.

"It’s what I deserve: I made a mistake and paid for it. I'm still paying for it. But now we have you."

"That's...nice?" He still wasn't sure what the two werewolves saw in him, and he certainly couldn't see anything worth any kind of devotion. James pulled back a little to look into Q's eyes. Grumbling unhappily at the space between them, the agent pulled him back closer with a frown on his face.

"Yes, it is. I don't think I had realized how much until now. Alec has just gone on a mission on his own, something neither of us would have even thought possible only days ago. But having you, protecting you, fills all the cracks and failures on our fucked up brains. You give our insanity an outlet to become something better so that chaos is used for good instead of destruction." Q was pretty sure no one on earth had ever heard James Bond, the deadly silent calculating agent of MI6, talk that much. If he had been in his right mind, if he had been able to string more than three words together, he would have been making fun of the agent for being so open (it simply wasn't done for a double-0-agent to say more than three sentences in one conversation), but it was nice. It was nice to have James’s deep voice washing over him, to have his strong hands on his body, and it was nice for once to feel protected. Still...

"Bullocks." Q would have loved to make a little victory sign at the look of pure surprise on the agent’s face, but he settled for a little grin. Feeling sleep pull at him, his eyelid growing heavy, Q tried to struggle against it, but the darkness was winning. Strong arms tensed around him. "Talk...more."

"About?" That had Q thinking for a moment, and thinking made him a little bit more awake, forcing his brain to work against the goo that seemed to have settled around it, slowing his thinking.

"M." Q hadn't really known the previous M - he had heard stories about her, had heard how much the double-0-agents loved her like a mother, even though she could be quite a bitch. He also knew that her death had been hard on James. The silence between them stretched and Q though the agent wouldn't talk, but as he was about to let himself go to the darkness, the strong voice started to bring him back again. 

"It was my fault." Finding some strength in him - for his agent,he would do anything, for his werewolf he would apparently brave death itself - Q pulled himself a little higher. His face was resting in the pillow, so he was nose-to-nose with his agent looking into stormy icy blue eyes, and his hand was resting on a rough cheek that hadn't been shaven recently. A single tear was resting at the corner to the wolf’s eye, and Q wiped it away softly. He could guess that James had never said those words out loud, had not allowed himself to, but to keep Q's attention on him he would talk about anything. 

"No...wasn't." Stormy eyes searched his, but Q was telling the truth, he had read all the report and no one but James Bond himself blamed 007 for the death of the previous M. 

"It is what I choose to believe."

"Stupid." Thinking very hard so he would be able to string the next sentence together, Q took his time saying the next words."She never...would have...blamed you."

A sad little smile touched his agent’s lips as he leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Q would probably have to pound this truth in his stupid agent’s head or it would eat him alive. But not now, now he just wanted to sleep...but couldn't. James had said he couldn't sleep. He knew why, could feel his body growing cold, his limbs losing sensitivity, but it would be so easy to just close his eyes and sleep.

"Q!"

Damn, he had closed his eyes. The younger man looked into his agent’s worried gaze and sighed. He was simply too tired for this. "Sleep."

Bond shook his head, his eyes turning hard and calculating."You can't, you have to wait for Alec."

Oh! Yes he had to. He had two werewolves - he could wait for the other to come back, had to wait for the other to come back. He didn't know why it was so important to have both wolves at his side before he could go to sleep, but his brain wrapped itself around this fact and refused to let it go. Nose-to-nose with the deadliest man in MI6, staring into amazingly blue eyes, Q hummed in agreement.

"Talk." So James did: he talked about his parents, about his house, Skyfall, about his training, about his time in the army. He kept on talking even as his voice grew hoarse from too much use, but he kept on talking and Q listened, keeping his gaze fixed on the only thing keeping him alive in this too-silent room.


	5. Puzzle of gold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like 001, my beta think he's a jerk....which he is of course ;)
> 
> Next chapter fluff and Q talks a little about his past (so a little dark too sorry)

"Follow the corridor. Don't open any door."

These were the only words of advice M had given him before he left. Now he could understand the warning in them. Finding the entrance to the corridor that lead to 001 was easy: no one was guarding the entrance, no special security, just a simple red door, not even locked. But now that Alec had been in the corridor for...he didn't even know how long, he was tempted to open a door. Walking, without pause, without a doubt, the agent was getting restless. The corridor turned and twisted, stairs were climbed and then would go down, there was no end to it all. There was no light, apart from the few electric ones attached to the ceiling. There was no sound but the one of his own feet falling over and over on the ground to the same cadence. So when he finally passed the first door, he stopped. Everything in him screaming to open it, to go in, that maybe, just maybe it might get him to his objective faster. His hand hovered over the doorknob, his fingers brushed against the cold metal...then he withdrew. 

This place didn't need protection or lock doors, because it was a trap for the mind. He knew he had to follow the corridor, but with each step, going deeper and deeper or higher and higher (he simply didn't know anymore), more and more doors appeared. All shapes and sizes. They seemed to glare at him, wanting to invite him to use them, but he continued on. This was the most evil maze he had ever found himself trapped in. The path was there. He only had to stay on it, but everywhere he saw exits, doors promising a quicker way. All lies, all traps devised by a truly twisted mind that understood how the mind worked. If given an easier path, most people would take it, and the doors were just that. But Alec knew better, this was a maze created by a twisted mind working for MI6, and if he pushed one of those doors open, the traps behind it would be awaiting him. So he did what he usually did when trapped or confined in a tight space so his mind wouldn't wander on its own and lead him to insanity. He though about James, his partner and his pack....adding for the first time a little touch of Q.

James had looked...bad. Alec had seen his partner look defeated, had seen him after a particularly hard mission, had seen the man in his rare moment of happiness, but never the way he had looked standing over Q as Alec prepared for his departure. The icy blue eyes man had looked hunted, had already been planning what he would do if Q survived or if Q died. It was how they worked: James planned ahead, always seeing the bigger picture, trying to anticipate the worst, while Alec lived in the moment and kept them safe in the present. Bond was the planner and he was the survivor, one man planning the future while the other lived in the present. It made them good at their job, made them deadly and balanced their relationship quite well. Q had been the new variable, the piece missing to give them focus. While James could plan ways to protect and care for the younger man, Alec was happy to be there to support Q at any hours of the day. That's what had, in part at least, saved the Quartermaster. If Bond hadn't planned ahead, their mate wouldn't have had a safe office to hide in, and he would have been taken away from them. Not that they wouldn't have turned the world upside down to get him back, but Q injured and safe was better than no Q. 

Passing door after door that now all looked the same (he was starting to think they all look the same so people would think they were going in circles, always passing the same door), the agent was lost in thought, in concentrating on marching on. So when finally there was light, quite literally golden light, at the end of the corridor, he stopped for a moment. Metal had a smell, gold had the smell of cold metal, lifeless but immortal. As he took a careful deep breath, unfamiliar smells assaulted the werewolf. Gold was very present in the mix, but also ashes, burned wood, wet rock, dust, and...cinnamon? Looking on, all he could see was the golden light, so he started walking again. As he passed the entrance, he had to stop again, his brain unable to reconcile what he was seeing with where he thought he was. He had lost count of how many stairs he had gone up or down, had lost the sense of up and down a while back, but this made no sense. Past the entrance was a bridge built with rock, leading to a platform standing in the middle of the large, very large room. He felt like he was standing in the middle of an underground cathedral. There were columns everywhere,and he couldn't even see the ceiling over his head as it was lost in darkness. The sun was coming in from openings in the wall to his right (he was fairly sure it was a play of mirror reflecting the light in), shinning over all the gold covering the ground beneath the platform. It was impossible to know how much gold there was, as it covered the entire floor. He could barely see to his left two other platforms a little higher from where he was. One of them had a large wooden bed on it that looked like it should have belonged in a castle. The bed was surrounded by leather-bound books in all shapes and sizes, all looking like first editions. The second platform only had an old-looking wooden chest, shoes lined to its left side and an old mirror cast in silver nailed to the wall next to it. The one alarming thing, at least to the agent, was that the one and only thing he couldn't see was 001. He looked below at the piles of gold, around and into the darkness over his head, but couldn't see a thing. Well, there really wasn't anything else to do really.

"SMAUGY, COME OUT AND PLAY!" He had never been know for his tack or delicacy, so he didn't see why he should start being polite with a dragon.

"Over the mountain, the dragon flies." The voice was deep, filling him with a sense of dread, but also very posh. It echoed on the walls, booming all around him so he couldn't pinpoint its origin. "Under the mountain, the dragon sleeps."

"That's nice, did you write it yourself?" A small tremor under his feet had him turning around, and the agent froze. There, blocking the entrance with its giant body, was 001. All red and golden scales, head five time bigger than the werewolf, eyes sharp and filled with intelligence, stood the very first double-0 agent MI6 had ever hired. More worryingly, the great beast tail was swinging behind him as his front claws closed around the bridge and smoke started leaking from between his very sharp, very long, teeth.

"And in the fire, the dragon KILLS!" Alec had just enough time to jump down and into the piles of gold below as fire licked at the top of his head and heat dangerously brushed against his skin. Landing on his feet, the agent rolled into the coins of gold and slipped behind a column, hiding himself as fire seemed to searched for him. When the fire stopped, there was silence, and from the corner of his eyes he could see the dragon moving around the room, his claws soundlessly hooking themself in the cracks on the walls. Alec would have made a joke about lizards, but he was quite happy to just stay hidden for now. "Who dares enter my home?"

So polite, James would have adored him...if not for the fire-breathing part. "006!"

That seemed to give the great beast a pause as he lowered himself to the ground, now making much more noise, as coins moved away from him and his great weight. The big head with sharp golden eyes looked around, and Alec saw him take in a deep breath. The face the dragon made looked a lot like complete and total disdain.

"You reek of wolf!"

"Sorry, didn't have time to take a shower." He had mumbled the reply but before he could move again, the dragon's tail was wrapped around him, trapping him to the column as the beast moved to stare into his eyes. 

"I would threaten to eat you, but wolves have the worst meat, too thick and so hard to chew. Simply give one good reason why I shouldn't burned your skin away from your bones, little wolf." Smoke was once again moving into the beast’s mouth,and Alec was trapped.

"Q needs your help!" The tail unwrapped from around him and the beast moved away, sitting in the middle of the room and looming over the agent, as Alec struggled to stay upright as the coins moved under his feet. The dragon was silent,staring at the much smaller being waiting. "He was injured and needs blood."

"Why did you come to me then?" Alec was only now starting to ask himself the very same question.

"Eve said to get you." A sound escaped the great beast’s throat, and the agent soon realized the dragon was chuckling.

"Clever girl."

"So you'll come with me?"

"No." Alec was gaping as the dragon turned around and climbed back up, disappering into the shadows once more. 

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU MEAN, NO!?!"Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't the right approach, but, well, patience had never been his strong suit, and he didn't have time to play games with a stubborn old thing.

"Dragons don't give away anything for nothing, little wolf."The echoes of the voice boomed around him, and he couldn't see the beast anymore.

"FINE! Whatever you want, I'll get you, just...." A sound the agent was sure was the great and terrible beast’s noise of disapproval was the only answer to his statement."What.do.you.want?"

There was a long-suffering sigh and the beast was behind him once more, looming. "As you are probably not aware of ethics regarding the ways to deal with my species, I'll give you advice I would recommend you remember carefully. One does not simply ask what a dragon wants, or he'll loose what is more precious than life to him. One offers a price and hopes it will be accepted"

"I don't know what to offer...except maybe my promise not to come back here and set explosives everywhere, you know, just in case I fancied toasted dragon." Far from being offended, the beast chuckled once more as the agent frustration grew with each passing minute. "You give me a price and I'll see if I can pay it or not."

"Your life?"

"Fine." The dragon’s sharp gaze examined him, but Alec didn't move. If his life was the price for the beast to give his blood to Q, then so be it. 001 started prowling around him, marching in slow circles around the agent as he kept on looking at him like he was a fascinating puzzle. 

"Why give your life for a lowly Quartermaster?" At the lowly comment, the werewolf growled softly in warning, not liking someone insulting his mate. The dragon simply seemed more puzzled, until understanding dawned in his gaze and he sat, once more looming over the agent. "Unless the lowly Quartermaster means more to you than your life."

"Yes, he does."

"Fascinating."

"What.is.your.price?"He was tired of the games. If the beast was to kill him, then he should do so, or Alec would turn around and find another solution. If Q was to die, he wanted to be at his side, and wasting his time here was useless if the dragon wasn't interested in helping. 

"Q will pay it."

"NO!" Too late: the beast moved and was out of sight again. Alec moved, trying to stop the beast, but his feet slipped on coins and he couldn't move fast enough. Looking around snarling, his wolf clawing at his insides to let it out, he looked up at the sound of shoes hitting rock. There on the platform stood a cloaked figure looking down at the agent, his face hidden. 

"I won't leave without someone guarding my treasure. You stay and I'll save your Quartermaster."

"Q is not paying the price!"The agent didn't even want to imagine what the beast would ask of the younger man.

The cloaked figure shook his head in derision. "Let him make the choice or let him die."

Alec snarled but didn't reply. He stared into the darkness hiding the face of the beast now turned man looming over him on the platform. "Now stay here and guard my home like a good guard dog and I'll go to your Quartermaster."

"If you touch even one of his hairs, I'll...." The figure turned around, already walking away, leaving the agent to figure out how to get back up and to guard his home. "I'LL DESTROY YOU!"

He heard the beast’s low chuckle as he was left alone on a pile of gold, without any insurance that the dragon would keep his word and go to Q. Something told him that if he tried to leave, the beast would know and come back, so he could only hope 001 would hold up his end of the bargain. Once Q was safe, he would deal with the damn old dragon and his price.

 

_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_

 

Even with Bond so close, the agent’s deep voice keeping him conscious, Q had fallen asleep. He still remembered the despair in his agent’s voice as his eyes had fallen shut, too heavy for him to keep open. His entire body had felt numb, and he couldn't fight anymore. There was darkness, there was silence, and then nothing. 

So the very fact that he now felt warm and relaxed was not necessarily a good sign. He was afraid to even open his eyes, afraid of what he might find now surrounding him. He wasn't a man of faith, had never believed in heaven, but the fact that he was still conscious was worrying. With a deep sigh, feeling he could open his eyes and could feel the rest of his body, he blinked once...twice, and glared at the figure next to his bed. Sitting next to his bed was a tall man, with long legs, unruly dark curls, high cheekbones, piercing hazel blue eyes, and the most smug grin plastered to his face. The man’s skin was a pale white, his lips thin but plump, and there was knowledge in those eyes way beyond the years his body had chosen to appear in. One of his sleeves was rolled up, an IV stuck in his arm connected to a machine that was than connected to Q's IV, also stuck in his arm. Following the red liquid as it left the man, entered the machine, and than went into him, the younger man looked at the older being with a glare. "Where's Bond?" 

The man's eyebrows lifted a little and his smile grew a little larger, quite smug. He had definitely not been expected to awake to that particular face and only wanted his agent at his side, still feeling quite shaken.

"I sent the snarling one to keep company with the angry one."

"Sent the..." Q’s eyes grew wide as he understood the implications of the older being at his side and the absence of his two agents. "They’re in your lair! Why?!?"

"A little white lie on my part. I told the angry one I couldn't come to your side if someone wasn't guarding my HOME. Do please stop calling it a lair. And I told the snarling one to go help his friend or I wouldn't help you. He was quite imaginative on the ways he thought he could have me comply, but decided against it...until you stopped stopped breathing." The Quartermaster was looking at the dragon in horror at the thought of Bond first threatening a beast that quite frankly had no patience for threats, and that he had indeed came very close to never opening his eyes ever again. Also, there was the fact that Alec was still in the beast’s lair (he would never call that place a home, it was a lair), now with Bond probably agonizing over the fact that they had no idea if Q was still alive.

"I have to get to them." He tried to sit but was pushed back down by a strong hand that he knew could snap him in half even in human skin. He was regaining his strength fast, mostly due to the dragon's blood, but his head still spun a little at his fast movement. He couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten or drank anything. 

"You'll get to them soon enough. We..." The dragon’s hand wave between the two of them. "Have things to discuss."

"What exactly do we have to discuss?" Q was wary of these kinds of conversations with the older being, and had been from the first day they had meet each other. 

"The price of my blood AND your choice of mates." Q was back to his most intense glare, the one that he hoped one day would make someone’s heads explode.

"Your blood is free."He deadpanned, his voice flat. When the older being opened his mouth to argue, Q held out his hand to stop him. "You want our secret to stay a secret, then your blood is free...old man."

"No dragon gives anything for free, it is against all our instinct to do so."

The younger man’s eyebrows rose. If the dragon wanted to argue with him, Q had more than enough argument to stop any protest from 001. The dragon glared at him, going so far as to pout...all of it quite elegant, of course. 

"I already informed the snarling one that you would pay the price."

"I'll give you a penny for your trouble."They stared at each other for a moment, the room falling silent, until the dragon looked away, hiding his smile. "Please do get a messenger so that my agents can come back to my side."

"Not just yet. I haven't been out in quite some time and do intend to enjoy a little company." As Q opened his mouth to argue, the dragon held out his hand to stop him. "Do not push this, child. I allow a lot from you, but this is not to be argued. Your agents aren't in any danger, and you are alive, I held out my end of the bargain, and I hope you'll do so, too."

"We already agreed the blood was free." The dragon nodded, a smile still playing on his face. "Then what are you expecting exactly?"

"Lunch, with me once these are taken out." The man pointed to the IVs in their arms. "We had agreed you would have a meal with me at least once a month, so I ask that this month’s meal be taken outside to a restaurant of my choosing. That will be my price."

"Blood.Free."Q was so tired of repeating himself.

"This once, yes, of course. The blood the nurse will take from me in case you are injured again in the future, however, has a price." The younger could have argued this, but he could also allow the older being a small victory and finally nodded in surrender. He didn't hate the other man’s company, he simply would have wish to have two werewolves at his side instead of a manipulating dragon. "As for your mates...couldn't you just pick one? I would be in favor of the snarling one. The angry one is simply too impolite and snarky."

"James Bond and Alec Trevelyan, please do use their names. As for choosing, I didn't do the choosing, they did."

"Names are fickle. I’ve had many over the years and few have stayed in my memory. I know yours, so why should I bother with the names of insignificant beings?" Since he had argued many times with the dragon about Eve's name (the dragon still called her ‘woman’ or ‘clever girl’), he knew better than to ask him to remember the double-0’s names. Still, he had tried, and knew 001 would remember their names, if not use them. 

"They’re not insignificant to me, old man."

"They would be if they died." The dragon wasn't meeting his gaze, and Q glared at him, feeling his face redden (with dragon blood nonetheless) in anger.

"Don't you dare!"

"You had the chance to give me a worthy target months ago and still refused. They would do just fine to ease my anger."The older being voice was even, but there was danger lurking; anger was silent in the background, and his body tensed. 

"They won’t be the ones adding new scars to my body."

"How can you be sure of that?"

"I just do, and you should trust my judgment. I don't make the same mistakes twice...ever." He truly never would. Eve knew bits and pieces of his past, 001 knew much more, but for entirely different reasons. He had asked not long after they had meet for the first time what the name of his ex was. The Quartermaster could have told him, but a dragon's fury came with a price, a very steep blood-price. There was a reason the beast was kept hidden in the deeps of MI6, ready to be released on the world, but always as a very last resort. Because once a dragon was unleashed, with a clear target, nothing would stop him. No city, no human, nothing would stand in its way until the world was burning, and all the innocents in its path would burn with it. 

"Very well, but keep in mind I know their faces and names. Pray that they never become my target for hurting you, because then even your pleas wouldn't stop me, child." Q nodded understanding. If one of his werewolves hurt him for any reason and the beast was to learn of it, there would be nothing he could do to stop the dragon...he wasn't even sure he would try. 

When the silence stretched, the older being reached over and took his hand in his. Looking at each other for a moment, face so alike, looking into stormy eyes and forest-green eyes, they both took comfort in the simple touch. The silence stretched,only filled with the ticking of the clock on the wall and the sound of the machine filling his veins with blood from the dragon. He didn't worry for the dragon being drained of his blood. The beast could heal much faster than any other being Q had ever met and could probably fill Q's entire body five times before even starting to feel faint. As predicted, one of the nurses came in, pulled the needle out of Q, checked his vitals, and filled some bags with the dragon's blood for future injuries (that he hoped would never occur). A small woman, who apparently had been his doctor since he had come in, came over to check on him, pleased to see he was going for a fast and complete recovery.

"I don't know if it’s the blood, but it would appear there won't be any scars from the bullet, your vitals are excellent, and your heart rate is much more regular. It is quite a miracle." The dragon chuckled softly, and the doctor looked at him, confused. "Who are you exactly?"

Q stayed quiet. If the being was showing his face AND hadn't given his identity, he certainly wouldn't be the one to tell. "I'm this child’s grandfather."

The younger man only stopped himself from rolling his eyes as the doctor looked from one to the other and than threw her hands in the air and left mumbling about crazy people all working for MI6. Looking at the dragon, Q raised an eyebrow,silently judging the man. "I'm sure she would have believed you even less if she knew just how many 'greats' go in front of that title."

"Maybe she would have believed me if she knew my age?" Q snorted, still doubting it greatly. He and 001 did look quite alike in many regards (the dragon had told him, Q was the spitting image of his very first son), but there was just enough difference between them to keep people guessing. Eve had apparently spotted more than the likeness between them if she had known to get the dragon when he had needed blood....speaking of which...

"Did you also send Eve to your lair?" He got a disapproving click of the tongue for the lair comment.

"No, I sent her back to her duty. She truly is a clever girl, that one...why couldn't she be your mate?" Q glared at the dragon and did roll his eyes this time. He was not having this conversation again. "The corpse left with her."

"I'm assuming M didn't felt the need to introduce you as 001?"

"No, he was quite happy to leave me here with you and made a hasty retreat once he knew you were breathing once more. Neither I nor the woman felt the need to reveal my true identity, and the staff was much too happy to see that my blood was working to question my sudden appearance."

"I don't recall Eve seeing you in human skin. How did she know?"

The smile on the dragon’s face was pleased and with a touch of admiration. "She's a sneaky little thing. I do believe she saw me when you last visited and she came to fetch you. I thought I had been fast enough to change back into my animal skin, but she must have been spying on us before reveling herself." That sounded like something his friend would do. "And before you ask, neither of your agents has seen my face. I was wearing a cloak when I faced them."

"They wouldn't use this knowledge against either of us." Being the last surviving relative of a dragon was powerful information, information that could be used against either of them. So even if the dragon wasn't used to spending much time in his human skin, as far as Q knew anyway. So far only Eve had guessed their connection, as even M seemed to only see a passing resemblance but nothing more. Family was important to a dragon, children being as precious as gold, so finding Q had been an accident, but one the dragon saw as a great gift. To Q it felt nice to have an overbearing, very noisy person in his life aside from Eve. It wasn't something he had had growing up and secretly enjoyed the fact that the dragon had adopted him so quickly. He hadn't realized how much he had missed having a family until there were two people being complete mother hens over his wellbeing. It felt nice, and he wasn't inclined to stop them any time soon. The fact that he had now also two werewolves as his personal shadows was equally interesting, if not still a little confusing.

As the nurse came back (the doctor, it would seem, had had enough of crazy people invading Medical and was quite happy to let her nurse do all the work now that Q was alright), she looked Q over once more just to be certain he could be released and brought him some clothes. 001 allowed her to take out the IV from his arm. They had taken five bags of blood from him, and he still looked quite fine. Testing his strength, the younger man sat up and was pleased when his head didn't spin, and he realized his whole body felt great. With a sigh of relief, he pulled the bag of clothes over to him and looked inside, going still at what he saw. "What the bloody hell are those?"

"Clothes." The dragon hummed softly, rolling his sleeves down and patting invisible creases away from his suit. Q glared at him, until the older being looked over to him. "Is there a problem?"

"I'm not wearing this."

"Its either those or a hospital gown, child." Walking outside to give the Quartermaster some privacy, the dragon turned one last time with a smug little smile on his face. "As long as you aren't naked, I'm sure the owner of the restaurant won't mind."

Swearing softly as the door closed, Q sighed in defeat and pulled on the clothes the dragon had chosen for him. The shirt was such a deep green that it was almost black, and the buttons were a pale grey that contrasted with the green quite nicely. He looked at the black boxer briefs with silver patterns with a scowl but still pulled them on with the black soft socks. The rest of the suit included trousers and all was a much paler grey, almost silver in its color and fitted the younger man like a second skin. The belt was a deep brown leather and the belt buckle was silver, and Q was sure it was the real metal and not just a pale imitation. Finally he slipped his feet into comfortable black shinny leather shoes with laces the same color as his shirt and walked out. He didn't even look at his reflection, because he loved his cardigans (even though he did look much older wearing them) and really wasn't one for fashion. He did see the eyes of more than one nurse widen and their mouths gape at the sight, but chose to ignore their leering gaze to turn to the dragon. 001 looked him over and sighed, going back into the room. He came back holding a untied bowtie and pulled Q closer to tie it around his neck.

"Every piece is important to make the overall look perfect, child."The bowtie fabric was filled with artistic patterns in deep forest green and silver. It did fit quite nicely with the rest of his suit (not that he cared...at all). To his pleasure, though, the dragon didn't tie the bowtie too tightly around his neck and was careful as he pulled it into place. Once 001 was done, he pulled and ruffled his hair and pushed his glasses a little further up his nose, humming approvingly. Q was about to comment over all the touching, but his stomach grumbled loudly and he closed his mouth, blushing slightly. "Let’s go fill you up. I can see your bones when you move."

Being called skinny was a very strong insult for a dragon, but Q rolled his eyes, and when 001 presented his arm to him, he looped his into it obediently. It was useless to fight the older being on this. The dragon came from an era of chivalry, and seeing Q as the weakest of the two (which he was), the older being took the lead as Q's protector. All the people they passed going out had bulging eyes as they saw the two suited men walking arm in arm, barely recognizing the Quartermaster. 

Once outside, he felt his shoulders relax and breathed a little more calmly as the dragon called a taxi and pushed him inside, already giving an address to the chauffeur. He took the time of the ride to calm his still railing mind. He had almost been kidnapped, his animal skin had been revealed to the werewolves, he was probably still in danger (not while in the presence of a dragon, though), and he wasn't sure if the two wolves courting him would still want him once they had had a moment to think. His animal skin wasn't all that impressive, he wasn't a predator, wasn't much to look at, and it had never brought him anything but trouble and misery. Why would it be different in this case? As the car pulled to the side, 001 pulled him out of the cab after paying and walked him inside the restaurant.

The place was nice - not too much light, so it felt cozy, and the waiter brought them to a small table at the back of the building so the dragon could have an overall view of the restaurant. The waiter tried to give them a menu, but the beast shook his head."Bring five of your specialties without meat for my companion and five rare steaks for me. Also, your best bottle of red."

The waiter didn't even blink, simply bowed and walked away with their order in mind. Q turned to the dragon with a frown."I won't eat five complete meals. I just hope you’re aware that not every one as your appetite, old man."

"Anything you don't like, you won't eat, and anything you don't eat, I'll eat...even though it’s rabbit food." The dragon made a little grimace of distaste at the idea of eating said rabbit food, but Q chose not to comment on it. "We are also not in an MI6 building anymore, so you know better, child."

"Yes, grandfather." The beast nodded approvingly. They had both agreed not to let titles slip from their mouth if they were in an MI6 building, but outside Q had agreed to the title that pleased the dragon quite a bit. Having a living family was a joy to the older being, and he couldn't see a reason not to agree to the dragon’s request. Waiting for their food, drinking the wine the waiter had brought them, Q looked at the beast. "Have you find something to occupy yourself with, or are you now sleeping all the time?"

"I did find myself a little hobby on the side on days where I need to go out into the world." Q made a little motion with his hand for the man to go on. The dragon was hired by MI6, but he hadn't had a call to duty from them in decades, aside from today, that was. So it wasn't surprising to the younger man that 001 had found himself another hobby (as he called his job). "I parade as a mundane detective. I even have my own mundane companion, and he is quite adorable."

"Must be if he's still breathing. Passive, is he?" The chuckle that escaped the dragon was quite delighted, and Q smiled.

"On the contrary, he is quite snarky and even punched me once or twice." That alone revealed just how much the dragon liked the mundane: anyone else would have died after the first punch (or even after thinking about the first punch). They talked about cases the dragon had worked on, about his mundane companion (an ex-soldier), and about the two werewolves courting the Quartermaster. All in all the meal was light, the company quite charming, and Q even found himself smiling more than once. It was relaxing to his nerves to spend some time with the dragon, as the beast was a source of security. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that with the beast at his side, no one would touch him. So he relaxed and enjoyed the company and food, until it was time to depart and go back to the real world.

"Do remind me to get a rope ladder before we go back to my home, child."

Sitting in the taxi, Q looked at the older being with a frown."Why?"

The beast shrugged, looking a little sad that their little trip was coming to an end. "I left the angry one to guard my gold, but I had to be sure he would stay behind, so I left him below." Q eyes widened slightly. Alec was going to be quite pissed about being trapped...although he was sure Bond wouldn't fair much better at having his partner trapped either. He wasn't sure how the agent would react to his presence anymore, but he did have to go and get them. 

 

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James was standing on the platform, arms crossed, looking down at his partner who had finally stop trying to climb the walls and was now sitting on the piles of gold, making towers out of coins. He could still hear him mutter under his breath about how he would make this place explode and how he would bury the dragon with his gold. When the cloaked figure had walked into Medical, Q hadn't been conscious anymore. Bond had tried everything he could to keep him alert and awake, but the younger man’s body had felt more and more cold with each passing minute. He had acted on instinct,snarling at the figure looming over them, but 001 had simply pushed him aside.

"Go help your partner and leave me to my work." James had wanted to argue, to push the being aside and away from the younger man, but than Q had stopped breathing. "GO!"

He had run, as fast as he could, all his instinct yelling at him to go back, to be at his mate’s side in this moment of crisis. But if leaving would allow Q to live, then he would go. Now he found himself in the underground lair, silence only broken by Alec's muttering, and he had to keep perfectly still. His muscles were tense, his teeth grinding against each other, everything in him was fighting for control. If he moved even a muscle now he would change into his animal skin and would run back to his mate. But he couldn't just abandon Alec down here, and he had been told to leave the beast to his work. So he stayed, unmoving, looking down at his enraged partner and fighting with his own wolf not to act in any way. It was a slow torture as neither of them had any idea of how much time had passed or if Q was even still alive or if the dragon would even come back or leave them here to guard his treasure. James wanted to yell, to destroy, to make something suffer - anything would have been better than this slow and useless wait. 

Alec kicked his piles of coins with a snarl and tried pacing on the constantly moving coins below his feet. He could understand his frustration: being trapped for a wolf was even worse than dying. They were animals of freedom, born to adapt to their environment as long as they were free to do so. This was hard on Alec, not being able to climb back up, and having James just as useless, watching over him with worry. 

"I'm going to kill that thing when he comes back." And Alec was back to death threats.

"No, you won't. Not until we know how useful he can be to Q." His partner below snarled at him, but stayed quiet, knowing James was right. They still didn't know why Eve had sent them down here to get 001, but if he saved Q, then they would have a reason not to exact revenge on the beast. It took some time, but Bond noticed a dimmed, new sound into the now-familiar silence of the lair, and he turned his head ever-so-slowly toward the entrance at the other side of the bridge. Feet, feet hitting stone, two pairs of feet coming their way. It was still distant, but it was coming toward them at a regular pace, no hurry, no rush, just walking in pair. Alec hadn't picked up on it yet. "Hush."

"What...?" Now he did. They both feel silent, Alec standing frozen below as his ears picked up the sound, and James simply keeping his gaze on the entrance, his fingers curling around his gun at his side as his other hand fell to his side. When the sound came even closer, both agents tensed. If he had to, James would jump down to be at Alec’s side, but from here he could defend the entrance. The first person to appear was a tall man with curly dark hair that smiled at the sight of the tense agents, and then...Q.

Q in a suit, looking dashing. The younger man looked to James, a little unsure as he fidgeted from on foot to the other. He looked well, healthy, his cheeks red with embarassment, red with blood. He wasn't sure when he moved, but one moment he was standing on the platform, the other he was in front of Q. His need to feel the younger man against his body was stronger than anything else, so The agent pulled the smaller man closer. James’s arm circled a thin waist as his other hand moved to curl into soft hair. His face hidden into a pale neck, the agent breathed in the smell of his mate, his muscles relaxing with each breath of the soft smell of a forest bathed in the morning light. Q’s arms were around his own waist, quietly inviting the agent to take his comfort. When James pulled back slightly, the younger man nodded, just a small movement of his head, and that was all the permission he needed. Ever so slowly, careful of the precious gift he had in his arms, James brushed their lips together in a tender kiss. Q's lips were soft and plump, a pink fruit begging to be tasted, so he did. Slipping his tongue between the smaller man’s parted lips, the agent growled as his mate’s taste invaded all of his senses, and slightly deepened the kiss, asking for more. Letting him take what he needed, Q melted into his arms, a happy little sigh escaping him in the second that their lips detached from each other before James was back to kissing the younger man. 

"JAMES, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He had completely forgotten Alec, but pulling away from Q now seemed impossible. Q, as always the better planner in any crisis situation, shushed him softly, pulling him back into his arms and turned his attention to the man still standing next to them. 

"Would you be so kind?"

"Of course, child." Bond looked over his shoulder as the much taller man walked away, a roped ladder over his shoulder, and after securing it, threw it below so Alec could climb back up. His partner would be here soon, so he turned all his focus back on the man in his arms. Q was caressing his cheek softly, any doubts he had had in his eyes a moment before gone. Resting their foreheads together, James breathed in and out, feeling the last of his tense muscles go lax as his wolf calmed down at feeling their mate so close. He and Alec would have to mark the younger man soon or they would both go crazy at the very idea of anyone getting too close to the younger man. Their wolves had accepted Q as their mate, knew him, worried about him, and wanted him for themselves - there was no turning back, not after they had almost lost him. 

He felt Alec behind him and moved so he still had Q in his arms but so that the younger man’s back was now plastered to his chest. His partner looked wild-eyed and rage-filled, but James did notice the look of pure admiration once the blond took in how Q was dressed. Just as he had with Bond, Q pulled the wolf close to him, letting him scent him, and wrapped his arms around his waist. When Alec claimed the smaller man’s lips, James saw his shiver as he tasted both Q and him in those pink lips. His partner just like him before kissed possessively, claiming what was theirs to claim, as 007 kissed and nuzzled their mate’s neck, equally claiming. Q's body was relaxed and pliant under their assault, letting them take comfort in his scent and taste. Someone cleared their throat and both wolves snarled and growled at the intrusion, while Q chuckled softly. 

"I would ask that you would get a room away from my eyes, but since the only room present is mine, I'll simply asked for your departure." The man was standing close to them, but not at arm’s reach, and was looking a little bored. James noticed that Q was firmly holding Alec against him, preventing the werewolf from jumping on the man. He had no intention of letting go of the younger man, so he rested his chin on top of Q's head, looking at the man in interest.

"001, I presume?" The dragon hummed softly. Now that he was calmed enough to really observe the man, Bond frowned at how familiar he looked. The dragon looked like a grown up, more serious version of...Q. His partner must have finally noticed it, too, because the growling stopped and his gaze moved from their mate to the dragon in human skin. 

"They are not as brainless as I though. It would seem there little wolf brains are putting the pieces together, child." James hadn't paid attention the first time the beast had called Q by the familiar title, but now that he did, he frowned even more."Well the snarling one at least. The angry one still seems confused."

Q huffed unhappily and Alec automatically kissed the younger man’s cheek, trying to calm him down, even though he didn't know what was frustrating the Quartermaster (it was instinct to both wolves to make sure their mate was always happy)."If you won't use their names, you could at least use their titles,old man."

Had Q just insulted 001? James looked at the younger man in worry, but the dragon huffed a laugh, shaking his head. "I have been polite enough to answer their request. They do not deserve more."

"How was trying to fry me without warning polite, you crazy bastard?" Alec’s voice was more growled than words, but the meaning was clear, and Q let out a sound of pure frustration, glaring at the beast.

"You.tried.to.burn.my.agent?" To both double-0-agents’ amazement, the beast actually looked a little sheepish, looking away. Alec had the most amazing grin on his face when Q’s feet started tapping against the floor angrily, and their Quartermaster started grumbling in foreign languages under his breath. "Apologize."

"That is most unbecoming and..." the dragon started, but Q was livid.

"Don't care. Apologize." Huffing unhappily, the dragon glared at the younger man, making both werewolves’ instincts go into high alert, but the younger man didn't even seem to notice, all his attention on the beast. 001’s attention snapped to Alec.

"If I give you a vial of ash from my fire, which added to any explosive will make the flames or said explosion burn anything to dust at their first touch, will you accept the token as payment for trying to kill you?" Q was about to snap a retort, but Alec was faster, his eyes gleaming with avarice (mention fire or explosions and the man was back to being a five years old).

"YES!"

"Alec..." the younger man’s tone was disapproving, but the moment the blond wolf looked at him with pleading eyes, Q sighed and nodded. "Why can't I surrounded myself with people who aren't lunatics?"

"They wouldn't be as interesting and loveable as us," James whispered softly into the smaller man’s ear, and Q hummed softly in agreement, his hand absentmindedly resting on the agent’s cheek, keeping him close. Alec seemed torn for a moment as the dragon held out for him a vial of deep grey ashes, so Q pushed him forward. Bond was quite happy staying exactly were he was, one hand over the younger man’s heart as the other rested on his hip. "How are you feeling?"

"I wouldn't say I'm back to my full potential, but I can walk and I'm still breathing. Let’s just say I am grateful for both right now." So was the agent. He kissed the soft neck once before resting his head on the younger man’s shoulder, so he would only have to whisper into his ear to be heard.

"The resemblance between the two of you is quite uncanny." Q looked at James from the corner of his eyes, before returning his attention to Alec discussing fire and explosions with the dragon.

"The branch of my family three might have gotten tangled with his centuries ago." Bond’s nose brushed against Q's ear that had been ripped apart.

"Did he knew you when this happened?" If the answer was yes, than he would have to find a way to kill the dragon for letting his relative get hurt. Q should have been protected. If not by the werewolves, since they hadn't known him before, then by the beast who was his relative by blood. Failing to do so was as good as a death sentence to the double-0. The Quartermaster was smart enough to know how his agent thought and shook his head.

"No, just like you, he meet me when I became Quartermaster. He didn't believe he still had blood relatives out in the world." 

Then the dragon got to live another day. Alec came back to their side, easily looping an arm around both Q and James, kissing the smaller man neck in passing. 

"Hey! What was the price? Because Q still isn't paying it!"Alec snapped toward the dragon, but before the beast could answer, Q's clipped tone cut them both of.

"The.blood.was.free." 001 seemed about to argue, but the Quartermaster clearly would have none of it. "I consider you dressing me up, dragging me to a restaurant, and sharing a meal with you all the payment you could ask for."

James and Alec exchanged a look over the younger man’s head. Q looked absolutely amazing in the suit, the fabric hugging all his form, long muscular legs, his truly appetizing behind, and the color brought out his dazzling green eyes. Bond had to concede that the dragon had impecable taste in clothing, and gave the beast a nod of approval for his work. Alec for his part gave him a thumbs-up (such a child). Q was pinching the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

"Can't I just have my cardigan back?"

"No." One single word was echoed by three powerful voices that bounced on the walls of the dragon's lair. Alec and 001 exchange a smile and Bond took the younger man’s hand away from his face, kissing his knuckles.

"You are gorgeous, love." He was pleased to see the blush that appeared on the smaller man’s cheeks at the compliment. Something told James that his mate wasn't used to being praised for his looks and made a note to do it as often as he could in the future. Q met his eyes, and Bond knew the only thing he would see there was adoration and truth. His mate looked away, blushing even more and cleared his throat.

"We should report to M." The Quartermaster was clearly trying to change the subject. All three agents snorted in derision (once a double-0 always a double-0).

"We are bringing you back home with us, where you WILL get some much deserved rest." Q opened his mouth to argue, but both Alec and Bond shook their heads to stop him. "Just sleep, love, you need it."

"...Very well." His mate’s body was leaning heavily on him,and he knew how exhausted the younger man must be after all that had happened. Looking at his partner, Alec nodded to him and they started to steer Q away with a final bow of thanks to the dragon.

001 Stopped them with one hand held up and came closer. He didn't touch Q, simply looked at him and replaced the bowtie that was slightly croaked. 

"I'll see you soon, child." Q hummed approvingly and the beast turned to both werewolves, flames dancing in his eyes. "Take care of him."

Both doulbe-0’s nodded, and the beast turned his back on them, walking away. Each wolf plastered on either side of the smaller man they started to walk away and back to their home...this time with their mate.


	6. Puzzle of belonging

Q was safely tucked under his arm looking already half asleep as they all walked through the MI6 corridors toward the garage. Alec was walking in front of them, intimidating any mundanes that would dare try to stop them or try to have the younger man report to M. Bond wasn't ready to completely relax his stance as long as they were still in the building, and his partner didn't seemed much more relaxed as he growled at a young woman who jumped out of the way. Q was silent, his eyes half closed, leaning heavily on the agent, his whole body finally asking for some rest after all the excitement it had been put through. The agent was pretty sure that if he let go of the smaller man, Q would simply fall to the floor and sleep there. For his part, having his mate being so clingy and dependant on him was a pure gift to the older man as he gently stirred Q along.

They had just entered the garage and slipped the younger man in the backseat with Alec letting the Quartermaster use his lap as a pillow when a very persistent little mundane reached them. Carefully, so as to not slam the door and awaken Q, Bond closed the door and turned on the intruder. He had to give the little mortal some credit as he looked the werewolf straight in the eyes and didn't back away when Bond took one threatening step toward him.

"M want's a report of the accident and a debriefing with the Quartermaster...sir." Bond looked him up and down slowly. The man didn't have any weapon on him, and he was not physically capable of stopping him, so the agent shrugged and turned away from him. He saw the blinding smile Alec had on his lips as the man gaped at the retreating agent. Sitting himself behind the wheel, Bond spared a look at the sleeping man and his partner wrapped around him. The bloodsucker could wait for centuries for all he cared - their mate needed rest and a safe place to do so. Driving away into the chaos of Londond traffic, it wasn't long before the younger man started to stir, his green eyes studying Bond in the rearview mirror. 

"Are we going to your flat? Because if so, I would much prefer going to mine." James had to smile at the pouting lips and authority in the Quartermaster voice. He was simply adorable. Alec chuckled softly, pulling gently at the dark curls resting on his lap.

"Our flat isn't our home, and we are going home," Bond replied softly, returning his gaze to the road. When his eyes flickered to the mirror once more, Q was glaring up at the blond werewolf like he wasn't half laying on him and using the werewolf as a pillow.

"Explain." It was quite amusing to Bond to see his partner going all soft-eyed and gooey as the smaller man took his chin between his fingers, keeping the agent’s gaze on him. "Your MI6 files only list your London flat as your permanent residence."

It was quite nice to still have some secrets from a man who had already proven to have read all of their files and yet didn't know about the one place the agents called home, especially since there were still many, too many really, things they didn't know about their mate. A sleep-deprived Quartermaster was apparently even more cranky then a fully rested one, as Q started poking the blond werewolf ribs as he wasn't answering him fast enough. Alec was fast in capturing both of the younger man’s wrists and kissed the tip of his nose, laughing as Q's cheeks turned red.

"Easy there, krolik." Even James had to look at Alec with raised eyebrows as the Russian term slipped from his mouth, and Q was starring at him, but made no comment on it. "The flat in London is mostly in case of emergencies or when we came back from missions and just want a place to sleep for a few hours. We didn't gave our home address to MI6, because...well...James?"

"We wanted privacy, and it is the only place where MI6 won't look if we decide to go awol."

The Quartermaster looked from one to the other, his wrists still held by Alec, and sighed like he was in physical pain. "Disturbing. I'm labeling the fact that you just confessed to thinking about quitting MI6 AND having a secret home, that I'm only just assuming is remote and no one would ever think to find you there, as disturbing." 

Before either men could talk, Q was holding his hand open to stop them from talking. "I am also noting that by taking me there you are assuming that I won't reveal its location and are trusting me with a secret you have kept for - this part I really don't want to know - probably many years from MI6."

"As our mate, it is now also your home, Q," Bond stated as forest-green eyes watched him in the mirror. Tugging his arms until Alec released him, Q hummed in answer and turned on his side, burying his face against the blond werewolf’s stomach. There was a little mumble that Bond couldn't understand and then he was asleep once more. Alec was giggling, clearly having understood what Q had just said, and looked to Bond with a mischievous smile on his lips. 

"What?"

"He said: Too tired to deal with stupid werewolf logic, wake me up when you wish to make sense." 

James had to smile as they made the rest of the drive in silence. Once or twice Q moved in his sleep, but both times Alec was there to sooth him and whisper sweet nothings in his ears until the younger man was deep asleep once more. 

As James pulled into their driveway and around the building to their garage entrance, he watched as Alec started to gently awake Q. Pressing a button under the steering wheel to open the door remotely, the agent parked his car and moved around to open the door for his partner and mate. Alec had Q's glasses in his hands as the smaller man rubbed his eyes tiredly, and when he was done and the glasses were back on his face, their mate looked around with wide eyes. 

"What.the.bloody.hell?" 

Looking around, both agents shrugged. The garage was filled with five cars (two of them Aston Martins, one Jaguar, one Mercedes, and one custom MI6 sports car he had never bothered to give back), four motorcycles, gym equipment, enough firepower for a small army, and a truly spectacular collection of grenade and flamethrowers. The garage was spacious, like a small gymnasium, which was one of the reasons the gym equipment had been placed there. Even with the cars and motorcycles, the gym area wasn't cramped and quite spacious. Instead of answering the Quartermaster’s question, Bond took hold of his arm, steering him toward the small steel door in the right corner of the room, after he had closed and secured the door of the garage. Alec was right behind them, his hand on the small of the smaller man’s back. 

Once they pass the door, James waited a moment, letting the younger man process everything he could see. It was a large open space, in the middle of which a tree had grown over the years (well, the tree had been there when they had bought the building and simply decided to let it live with them). The ceiling was all glass, letting the afternoon sun in and bathing the whole space in natural light. There were also high brick walls, made so thick a tank would have difficulty passing through them, and two large steel doors that had been welded shut, as they were never used. Aside from that, there were plants climbing the walls, potted ones attached to chains coming from the ceiling and their branches almost touching the ground. Amid all the green and natural light, one could see furniture. A leather brown sofa big enough to accommodate two giant wolves, a television screen mounted on the wall facing it, an oak table and four chairs next to the kitchen area. The kitchen area had an old-fashioned industrial refrigerator and freezer (for all the meat), a gas oven and an island with a dishwasher and all one would need to cook. The kitchen area was to the left, the resting area was next to the two giant steel doors, and to the right (where there used to be offices), was the wolves’ bedroom and closet hidden behind another wall of green and less thick brick walls. Q moved on his own, looking around until he was facing the tree in the middle of the open space and touched it, his eyes going soft. James and Alec looked on, waiting patiently for whether their mate would approve of his new home - there simply was no way the younger man was going back to his flat, if only to pack his things. As Q turned to them, a little smile on his face, both men visibly relaxed. "It’s gorgeous....and that car needs to go back to MI6."

Laughing silently and shaking his head, James moved to the smaller man’s side, pulling him in to his arms. Alec came behind, tucking his head against Q's neck. 

"They think it’s in the bottom of the ocean, and I'm keeping it," Bond hummed, softly kissing his mate’s cheek. 

"We'll see.... How did you even found this place? It’s...amazing."

"It was an old factory. They were about to destroy it when we came across it in one of our full moon runs. There's a forest in the back where we can run, and it’s remote enough that no one comes to visit. The closest neighbor is miles away, and from the outside it looks abandoned, so no one ever comes here," Bond replied easily, but Alec chuckled, kissing Q's neck before adding to James statement.

"Plus, there are those nasty rumors that there’s a man-killing beast in the forest and that the factory his haunted, so anyone brave enough to come around here, goes back screaming the moment they see or hear me." Q rolled his eyes, patting the blond werewolf’s cheek.

"I'll at the very least congratulate you on finding a nonlethal way of protecting your home."

Alec shrugged and Bond rolled his eyes, knowing what was coming.

"James said I couldn't place mines in the forest." The smaller man’s gaze travelled from one werewolf to the other and sighed when Bond nodded.

"Since my opinion on your sociopathic tendencies cannot go lower, I will stick with my congratulations and hand one to Bond for being to one with the most common sense between the two of you."

"You wish." Both the agent and the Quartermaster glared at the blond man, but he simply shrugged, hugging the smaller man a little tighter. Q seemed about to protest or reply but was stopped as a yawn escaped him. Exchanging a look with Alec, they both nodded and moved toward the bedroom. 

Letting Q sit on the wooden bed, with a mattress large enough that both agents could sleep either in human skins or wolf skins without disturbing the other, Bond went into the closest to find some more comfortable clothes for Q to sleep in. The bedroom had no plants in it, as there wasn't enough light coming in, the only light coming from the small window on the doors and the two round ones on either side of it. Aside from the rather large bed and bedside table, a mirror, and some paintings he had been able to save from Skyfall, the room was mostly bare. Hearing a small noise behind him, the agent turned to see Q standing in the middle of the closest looking around with a little frown on his face and Alec next to him with a mischievous smile.

"If the ladies of MI6 were to see this..."Q mumbled looking around.

The right side of the room was Bond's, filled with tailor-made suite of all colors, pristine white shirts, leather polished shoes, belt of all size and colors, ties carefully placed on hangers, watches lovingly arrange in drawers, and so much more. The left side, Alec's side, was a chaotic mix of rumples suits, leather jackets, jeans in all colors (there was even a pink one), shoes ranging from classic to sportive, and all kinds of accessories and holsters scattered around. It was a true show of their personalities, seeing the chaos on Alec's side and the pristine cleanness of James side. Without a comment, James handed a pair of sweatpants belonging to him and a white t-shirt belonging to Alec to the younger man and let him change in the closest, pushing Alec out with him. 

They both made themselves more comfortable, meaning they only kept their briefs on (or, in Alec's case, his boxers). When Q came out all rumpled and looking like a fragile little thing in their too-big clothes, they pulled him with them on the bed. James moved to spoon him from behind, wrapping an arm around the small frame so his hand was plastered over Q's heart. Alec snuggled in front of the smaller man, tucking Q’s head under his chin and resting his forehead against Bond's. Tangling their legs together, both agents waited until their mate was asleep before closing their eyes and following the younger man in sleep. 

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Alec thought he was the first one to awaken as he was surrounded by silence, except for the soft snoring from their Quartermaster, but once he opened his eyes he was meet with deadly artic blue ones staring right back at him. He was half sure that his partner hadn't slept more than an hour or even less. It was the first time they had their mate in their own territory, so he could understand that his partner had needed to stay alert after everything that had happen. 

It was always fascinating to Alec to see the terrible ladies’ man that was 007 like this. He was used to see his partner courting, flirting with, and charming every woman on his path, but he had never act like that once with Q. The smaller man was their mate, and so far Bond had only treated him like the most precious of gift, and, contrary to how he usually treated his conquests (as expendable human beings he could use and discard at will), he was very protective of the Quartermaster. From the looks Q sometimes shot to the agent, Alec knew that he wasn't the only one to have noticed the difference between the field-Bond and the mated Bond. For now his partner’s gaze travelled to him and they stared at each other in silence. 

Q was there with them, protected and loved - for now it was enough for them. They knew they couldn't convince the younger man to stay here (although both of their wolves wanted that very much). As werewolves, they needed to know that the man holding their souls in his hands would always be safe. But as the Quartermaster of MI6 and one of the must stubborn men Alec had ever meet, they both knew that being seen as a fragile mate would not please Q. He would also never allow them to keep him hidden, because Q cared too much about his agents and his work to ever accept such a fate. Staring at each other, the silence grew around their silent conversation. Soon they would move on, they would leave this bed, and time would take its toll on them, but for now in the silence, curled around their mate, they were at peace. 

In a silent agreement (actually a silent fight that Bond won with his artic glare of death), Alec rolled out of bed carefully to go prepare some breakfast while Bond stayed in bed, still not feeling like he could take his eyes away from their mate. Grabbing a pair of jeans lying on the ground, he rolled his eyes at his partner’s over-protectiveness (giant blond mother hen) and padded away in silence. The sun coming from the glass roof bathed the room in a soft haze of golden light filtered through the branches of the giant tree in the middle of the room. Letting the light wash over him, bath him in its morning glory as a lazy grin spread across his cheeks, he hummed happily. It was rare for Alec to feel this relaxed, or really to sleep at all, but last night with Q in his arms, all he could do was let his body relax and follow the younger man in a restful sleep. It was definitely something he could easily get used to, and he was sure that with some time and patience Bond would soon be able to sleep a whole night without the need to be such a huge mother hen. 

Walking into the kitchen, Alec looked into the cooler, frowning at all the meat. Q was a vegetarian, so this wouldn't do at all. Ruffling through the small refrigerator next to it, he was please to find some egg-white, orange juice, and surprise of all surprises, some fruit that still looked good. There was even some cheese and cream, so it was a morning full of victory. Preparing a small basic fruit salad with orange juice and sugar, he turned his attention on making a cheese and cream omelet. He wasn't a chef, not even a great cook (that was an honor that only Bond deserved for his superb cooking skills), but he did his best and had just started the coffee when a shuffling sound caught his attention. Turning around he saw Q rubbing his eyes, his glasses perched on top of his head, shuffling his feet in his direction, stirred by Bond’s hand on the small of his back. James had a terribly adoring smile on his face, all his attention on the younger man until Q was seated at the table. The younger man’s glasses fell on his face the moment his hands weren't in the way and he looked at both werewolves with a frown before falling forward and burying his face in his arms with a grumble. 

"Not a morning person, krolik?"The elegant middle finger that was vaguely shown in Alec's direction had the man laughing. Bond shook his head with the same stupid smile on his face.

"I didn't even wake him up, but he still swore at me for being awake at this ungodly hour - his words, not mine of, course."

"Of course!" Alec chirped happily as Q grumbled unhappily from under his arms. As a peace offering, he slipped a cup of coffee (the brand he knew Q liked and that he had bought in high quantity on the off chance they would get their mate home sooner than later). At the smell, the Quartermaster peeked at the cup and with a long-suffering sigh grabbed the cup, bringing it to his lips. "Careful, it’s..."

Both agents watched in amazement as Q gulped the entire cup of coffee, black no sugar, in a second. The cup was placed back down by a slightly-more-awake Quartermaster that looked at them both like he was surprised to see them. Alec had a suspicion that before his first cup of coffee Q was completely useless and not aware of his surroundings. His suspicions were confirmed as the smaller man looked around with raised eyebrows, before his eyes seemed to finally see where he was and he smiled at the two half-dressed agents with a little shy smile. 

"Another one, if you would be so kind?" Both agents exchanged a look; apparently Q was also extremely polite in the morning. This time Alec placed two sugars and some milk into the cup before giving it to Q. The younger man gave him a blinding smile. "Thank you kindly."

"Anything you want, krolik." Q simply hummed as Bond prepared the plate for them all and both werewolves took a seat on either side of their mate as he finished his second cup of coffee. As an afterthought, Alec brought the whole pot to the table with sugar and milk just in case (he had no idea how many coffee Q actually needed before he was back to his usual self). 

Alec and Bond had finished their plates in record time - it might have been a while since they had eaten anything other than in liquid form - as Q was still on his second cup of coffee and hadn't touch his food. James moved to the stove and was apparently planning to make more food as Alec simply leaned against the Quartermaster, one arm draped over the back of his chair. Q flicked him a glance and placed his empty cup on the table, finally reaching for his food. At the first bite, he hummed happily and looked to Alec thoughtfully.

"So you’re not completely useless out of the field then." Snorting in laughter, Alec took note that after two cups of coffee Q was back to his usual snappy self. The younger man rolled his eyes, but patted the werewolf’s leg affectionatel,y leaving his hand there as he kept on eating. "It’s good, Alec, thank you."

"I already told you, anything for you, krolik." The glare that followed the pet name was a thing of beauty.

"I suppose there's no escaping this, is there? If I asked you to stop referring to me with that stupid word, you would just find a more annoying one."

"If I swear to only use it here and when were away from prying ears, would that soothe you...krolik?"Alec asked in his most innocent voice, but Q wasn't fooled and glared at him, before giving a little nod.

"Swear it on your favorite weapon and you got a deal," Q mumbled around a mouthful of fruit.

Alec leaned closer, pressing a kiss to the younger man’s cheek, and whispered softly in his ear, "I swear on the life of the most valuable person in my life." At Q's raised eyebrows, the werewolf smiled teasingly and stole a strawberry-flavored kiss. "You."

Alec was sure Q would pull away or blush, but the younger man’s hand reached to keep him close, and on his own his mate kissed him softly, biting his lower lip teasingly. In a daze at receiving this present without having to take it, Alec almost missed Q's next words: "If you don't, you'll regret it, dearly." 

Alec didn't think he could love this man more, but having Q holding his chin, threatening him with a soft voice dripping with menace just after having kissed him so softly and biting him in the most adorable way...yeah, he was gone all over again. The Quartermaster took the agent’s stunned silence as agreement and turned back to his food. 

Alec was about to jump the smaller man and have his way right there on the floor, when he noticed Q wrinkling his nose in disgust. Sniffing the air, he smelled it, too: meat, cooking meat. His gaze snapped to the stove where Bond was cooking some sausage, but all of his partner’s attention was on their mate, his gaze searching. Q didn't say a thing and after the first reaction didn't show any indication that he minded the smell. When the blond werewolf placed the plate of sausage on the table, the younger man looked at them with...distrust. There was no disdain or visible show that the meat repulsed him, he simply looked at them like he didn't trust them...which was weirder than the reaction both wolves had anticipated. All of the werewolves’ attention was on their mate, and when Q noticed, he sighed, looking from one to the other. 

"What?" The word wasn't said with any anger; it was a tired, drawn out question. This had been James’s idea so, Alec simply stared at his partner in silence. 

"It seems to me that your choice not to eat meat isn't coming from an actual desire for not eating it, but from something else," Bond spoke carefully. He wasn't really surprised that his partner had also noticed the little display of mistrust.

"Very observant, 007." The title was back. Q wasn't happy.

"I don't ask to ambush you, Q. We are werewolves - we need to provide for our mate, and in our case it often comes in the way of hunting meat for our mate. If we can't, we need to understand why. I know it isn't because of your animal skin, you have fangs, so you aren't an herbivore, thus..."

"I'm omnivorous, brilliant deduction, 007," Q snapped unhappily, but didn't move away from either wolf when they came closer, instinctively moving to calm their mate. With a sigh, Q looked from one to the other and his eyes turned away, staring at something neither could see. When he spoke, the younger man’s voice was soft, even, no emotion showing into his intonation.

"My...let’s call him Fox for now...my old partner, Fox, wasn't a gentle or caring man, as I Iearned over the years at his side. He didn't show his true nature until much later, but the first sign came in a very cruel form. We had gone to a farm to visit a man he knew. I was left to wander the field and found a barn where the man was raising rabbits. 

Rabbits are the closest to my kind that I can find in the wild. Most fear me, but other let me stay at their side and...it might be to you what running with wild wolves would be, I assume. It is warm and easy. 

So I changed into my animal skin and was immediately accepted by a young female that had just given birth. She was very motherly and I was very small, so she acted as if I was part of her litter and took care of me. When Fox came for me...his mood wasn't a joyful on. He saw me and made to grab me, but...well, the female bite him trying to protect me. Before he could move again I change back into my human skin and we left, and I thought that it would be the end of it. But that night he left, and when he came back, he made me supper."

Alec looked to Bond, and they both knew where this was going, but they didn't make a sound, looking at their mate who was lost in his memories, completely oblivious to anything around him. Q was simply talking, reciting his own story like a text in a book that had nothing to do with him. 

"Fox waited until I was done to inform me that I had just eaten the female rabbit that had bitten him and that her babies would likely die without her. I wish I could say it was the last time something like that happened...but it was only the start of a long list of similar incidents.

As I refused to eat meat, he starved me until I would have eaten anything...for all I know, the very last piece of meat to touch my lips was human."

Q was silent, in a trance, looking away. Both werewolves stayed quiet, until James moved, taking the plate of sausage away and throwing it in the trash. The sound brought the Quartermaster back to the present and he blinked in surprise, looking from one agent to the other with raised eyebrows. Bond seemed on the verge of exploding. He couldn't face either of them and walked out of the room in a storm of emotion. Alec could understand the feeling and wanted nothing more than to go run in the woods to release some frustration, but he wouldn't leave Q alone. 

"How much did I say?" Q voice was careful; he truly had been lost in the past. Alec pulled him onto his lap, happy when the smaller man came easily and without a struggle. Kissing his forehead, Alec smiled at his mate calmly like he didn't wanted to rip a certain Fox apart.

"Just enough, krolik, just enough." Q looked at him skeptically, but relaxed into his arms, letting Alec pet him. The werewolf was pretty sure the younger man knew that it was mostly him that needed to touch, but neither said anything. 

 

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Alec had left to get some food that Q would like and Bond still hadn't came back after fleeing hours ago. 006 had not looked pleased at the idea of leaving him alone, but Q had given him a reassuring smile and pushed him out with the promise that he wouldn't leave the warehouse. The werewolf had found many excuses to stay, all more ridiculous than the others.

"What if a wild animal came in while I'm gone?"

"What animal would be stupid enough to come into a werewolf‘s territory?"

"A suicidal one?"

"Out!"

Once alone, some of the calm facade he had been putting up crumbled. Q didn't often talk of his past, it was painful and still haunted most of his dreams. It wasn't something he would ever be proud of. He was an intelligent man, had always been a genius, so he still couldn't understand how he could have been so blind for so long. Love, love apparently made you blind and a complete, utter fool. Blind he had been for the longest, thinking that the man hurting him had loved him, had cared about him, but it had all been a lie. A lie that had almost cost him his life. For the longest time he had sworn he would never love again, never trust again. Then there had been Eve, the very person to believe in him, to show kindness without asking for anything in return. It had been strange, alien, but it had also been his saving grace. Without her, Q wouldn't have the title he now held in MI6, he would never have had the courage to brave his fears and would have still been hiding from shadows that apparently only existed in his head. Then there had been 001, the most infuriating being he had ever met, but also so protective of him that for the first time in his life, he had gotten back the feeling of belonging to a family. He barely remembered his own parents, taken away from him at a too-young age. Not that the dragon could ever replace them, but as a demented grandfather, he was perfect. 

Now he was apparently mated to two werewolves. He still had difficulty accepting this as a reality. But he was standing in the middle of their den, he was protected by them, and even after getting a glimpse at his past they still stayed by his side. Opening up to them would take time, but with Q they were both patient and would wait for him to speak...or in Bond’s case, find way to force it out of him when he wanted information. That had been expected. The blond werewolf wasn't a picture of patience. Sure, he would be there to hold him if he broke, but Bond still would want to know as much as he could. Alec, on the other hand, was a wild card on patience. The agent could be patient when needed (he had once stayed hidden for four days on a mission without complaint) or he could be mischievous and trick him into talking. When it all came down to it, Q knew that if either asked anything about his past he would volonteer the information instead of trying to hide. If he was to accept them into his life, he would needed for them to be there if he crumbled, and he couldn't ask them to do it without knowing why. 

Humming to himself, looking at all the plants around the room, Q slipped out of his clothes and changed. In his own flat there weren't any plants (he wasn't there half of the time to water them and they always died on him), so being surrounded by greenery was amazing. Jumping from one patch of sun to the other, he came closer to the big tree in the middle of the open space. The roots were big and strong, his claws gripped into them as he jumped from one to the other in a circle. Looking up into the branches, Q opened his wings and with a jump and four strong flaps of his jet-black wings, he landed on the lowest branch. His wings weren't made to fly, he could glide if he jumped from an high enough perch, could even jump much higher if he flapped his wings hard enough, but flying was simply impossible. They were too small for his body, not strong enough to hold his bodyweight, and no record on his species had ever mentioned their ability to fly. Still, he kept them open for balance as he climbed higher, his claws keeping him grounded as he moved higher. 

Reaching the highest branch, he climbed as high as he could his little head popping at the top of the tree. He was surrounded by green leaves, his antlers almost touching the glass ceiling. His ears twitched happily as sun bathed him, warming his little body in a very pleasant way. Curling on his perch, tucking his wings around his body and resting his head on his paws, he made sure his claws were firmly encased into the wood under him and closed his eyes. He could almost remember a time, a very, very long time ago, when he had run free into the woods, climbed into trees, and napped just like he was right now. Contrary to rabbits, which prefer to sleep under the earth, protected and surrounded by the coldness of the earth, Q preferred the highest ground, always had. His species wasn't a very documented one, so he had no idea if that was normal or just one of his many quirks. Probably the former. Then again, from what he did know of his species, they were creatures of mischief who killed people unfortunate enough to get lost into the woods...so he shouldn't give to much credence to what he read. 

He had no idea how long he stayed up there, simply enjoying the sun and a rare moment of peace, before his ear twitched at an unfamiliar sound. Looking down, twisting his head in an angle that would be impossible in his human skin, he glimpses white fur. But then it was gone and the next sound that came to him was from the bedroom. Q stayed where he was - he was on top of the tree and there really wasn't a better hiding spot. 

"Q?" At the sound of James’s voice, the little being debated moving or staying where he was. The long, sad sigh that escaped the agent now standing under the three made the decision for him. Ruffling the leases around him with his antlers, Q looked down to meet artic blue eyes. The relieved smile on the agent’s face had Q making a little happy sound. To his surprise, Bond jumped and easily grabbed the lowest branch, pulling himself onto it with grace. The agent climb a little higher, until he found a branch that he seemed to like and made himself comfortable. The werewolf moved around a little, than placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, seeming content to stay there. 

Rolling his eyes with a little huffing sound, Q jump down and glided onto the agent’s folded knees, digging his claws into flesh for balance. James didn't make a sound of protest or pain, but did open his eyes, surveying the small creature. Folding his wings, the little being jumped on the werewolf’s lap and made himself comfortable. Bond’s hand carefully moved and started scratching his head with one finger between his antlers. If Q could have purred, he would have been doing so at this very moment.

"I'm sorry for running out on you, love." Q cracked a forest-green eye to glare at the agent, who had stopped scratching him while he talk. James looked uncertain, but the little being nipped at the agent’s thumb with a little hissing sound, urging him to resume his petting. With a smile and a chuckle, James complied. "Pushy little thing."

It seemed like hours before Alec came back and asked that they came down, unhappy at not being petted. Before Q could move, James had wrapped his arms around him and jumped down to the ground. The agent sat at the base of the three, waiting until Alec had changed into his animal skin, before he placed Q back on his lap and started petting the both of them.


	7. Puzzle of protection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm BACK!!!! And working on all kinds of projects so I'll be finishing this story soon hopefully :)

This was a very pleasing surprise he hadn't been expecting at all. Here he was in the wild, completely free to stay in his animal skin, knowing he was completely safe. That morning they had all awakened quite early and, feeling the need to spent some more time in his animal skin, Q had shifted after their breakfast and had started to feel the need to stretch his legs. He had run around the large building,practically climbing the wallsuntil Alec had shifted into his animal skin, too, and scratched at the door, giving a meaningful look to James. The icy blond man had looked at the both of them with a fond smile and grabbed a jacket before opening the door.   
  
Q had half expected them to leave him alone inside, as they were both terrible mother hens that thought danger was waiting around every corner, but they had both paused, looking at him. Curious, the little being had approached and watched as the big black wolf had lunged forward, clearly showing him the path he should follow. James had waited on, looking as the little bunny-like creature had stretched his nose forward, smelling the air before him for any trace of danger. He had never if very rarely dared to go into any kind of woods. Q wasn't defenseless in anyway, he had his fangs, his claws, and his antlers... but, well, he was also very small and breakable. The smell that came back to him was of fresh grass, rich,leafy smelling wind, and even the sweet tang of berries, fresh to be eaten. Taking a very careful step forward, the little being passed the threshold of the building and into soft brown dirt. Stretching his wings over his head, Q looked toward the path the wolf had taken off on and saw said wolf looking back at him, waiting to see what he would do. With a final look at James, who was still inside waiting patiently to see if Q would follow, the wolpertinger made a chirping sound of happiness and went running toward the wolf. If he did hear James laughing softly as he closed the door and followed them on foot, Q didn't look back, enjoying this rare moment of freedom.   
  
So here he was, feeling the grass caressing his fur-covered belly, wings singing around his antlers as he ran through the woods, following the path the big black wolf had made for him and getting drownedin the smell of the forest. It was exhilarating to have such freedom, and for a moment he envied these two werewolves that were keeping him safe. They didn't have any of the restrictions imposed by his size and rarity. If someone were to come upon Alec in his animal skin, the normal reaction of any mundane would be to run away screaming. If anyone saw him in his animal skin, by experience, their first reaction would always be to try and catch him. He never had real freedom. He could switch in his flat, but in the wild, in the forest where he felt so at home, it would be suicide. Even if he didn't come upon any human, a fox would send him into a frenzy of bad memories and a very probable panic attack, and any other predator would see him as food. Of course he would fight any predator until they lay dead before him (he hoped dearly), but it would definitely put a strong damper on his pleasure and would only put him on edge. A hard shiver went through his body, shaking away all of his strong negative feeling and focusing on enjoying the moment. He was free now, his animal whispered to him, he could run as much as he wanted, could climb any tree, and above everything else he was safe.  
  
Looking over his shoulder, he could see James walking a good distance away, in no real hurry, and he knew that Alec was somewhere far ahead making sure Q wouldn’t encounter any predators... or any animal, really, as the small being hadn't seen any sign of life except for his wolves. He couldn't even hear any birds. Not sure if he should be please at being protected with such devotion or annoyed at the lack of life in the forest, Q rolled his eyes and hopped on. He was stretching his wings, jumping and gliding from one three root to the other, when a sweet smell attracted his attention. It wasn't a smell he had encounter often, but his animal was already rolling happily in him, urging him to follow the smell to its obvious delicious promise. Completely leaving the path the wolf had made for him, the little being opened his wings and jumped,gliding toward the smell so he would reach it faster. It didn't take long before he saw his target, and did roll into it with a happy little chirping noise, almost purring his pleasure.   
  
Clover and wild blackberries.  
  
He had died and gone to heaven. There all around him was green, delicious looking clover, and right next to it a bush furnished with untouched ripped blackberries. As he had never been allowed or had the courage to venture into the wild alone, the only time he had had clover was when he had went to pick some in his human skin, and all his berries always came from the shop. They looked so much better in the wild, not smelling of all the mundanes who had touched them and without any trace of chemicals. Savoring the sight and smell, Q left his animal skin in full control and completely ignored his human side as the little being happily started eating this amazing clover. Animal skins were much more simple, they only wanted their freedom, safety, and food, so letting his animal skin have full control let him push away at his worries. He didn't have to think about his work, about his almost kidnapping, about his past, all he had to do was enjoy the moment and the taste of fresh clover rolling around his tiny mouth. Curious about his animal opinion of his future mates, Q pushed the idea forward. He wasn't completely surprised when his animal simply shrugged it off; they were safety, safety was good, and they were lonely. Well, he had been lonely, but he hadn't known his animal had been, too. He felt his animal’s exasperation at his surprise and smiled to himself – of course they had both been lonely. They had each other, but that didn't mean they were enough for each other. Having an animal skin did mean having another being living inside of him, so they were never really alone, always a presence inside of his brain. But they were still one person or animal and they had craved a place to be, someone they could turnto. Well, now they had two, and he was pleased to know his animal approved of them both.   
  
Speaking of which, Q came back to the front, pushing his animal aside, and lifted his nose away from the patch of clover it had been buried into. He had left the path and had been eating for quite a while now. Long enough that James might have passed him and continued on without noticing Q's absence. Startled by his own gluttony and stupidity, he turned, ready to run back to the path to see James... on his back not to far from him,relaxing in the sun, his eyes close. He hadn't even heard the man approaching, as focused as he had been on his patch of heaven. The blond man must have felt the little being’s eyes on him, because he turned his head and ice blue eyes looked back at him warmly. Q’s little nose twitched, and he moved forward, bumping it on the man’s nose in apology for leaving without warning.   
  
"It’s alright, love,we’re in no hurry, take all the time you need." Q didn't move when James caressed his ear, the one that was still intact, between his fingers. Half closing his eyes in pleasure, Q chirred at him and moved back to his clover, reassured and leaving the agent to his sun-bathing.   
  
Moving toward the bush filled with blackberries, the little being was wondering how the agent had found him. He was nibbling at a particularly juicy berry that tasted amazing, when the bush shuddered and a huge black snot appeared before him. Taking a hop back, Q looked up and into laughing wolf eyes. Alec's whole head was coming out of the bush, his tongue lolling to the side in silent laughter and he looked... like a stupid big dog. Cocking his head to the side, Q balanced himself on his back paws and sat back, reaching up until his little twitching nose bumped agaisnt Alec's. The wolf stood completely still, letting the little being nuzzle at him, clearly afraid that any move would topple Q over. He flapped his wings twice to keep his balance and fell back on all fours, looking up to see what the wolf would do. Alec was always very careful when he was in his wolf skin around Q, especially when he was this small. So it wasn't a surprise when the wolf stepped back and away from the bush. It was, however, a surprise when he came back the other way and lay down before Q, his head to the ground. Accepting the silent invitation the small animal climbed on the wolf to reach the higher,riperberries.   
  
He soon had his fill of berries and snuggled on top of the werewolf’s large head, wings spread around him for balance, and didn't move an inch when Alec raised himself to follow James back toward their home. Q definitely wouldn't be against another day like this. The wolf moved slowly, so as to not dislodge him, and James only picked him up when they arrived back at the building, and then again it was only to place him in his favorite potted plant, letting him finish his nap in peace.   
  
"Sleep well, love, we’re right there if you need us." Q opened one eye when he felt gentle fingers caress his ear and nuzzled against the agent’s large hand before curling into a tight ball and covering himself with his wings. Definitely not against any of this. 

  
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James looked at his mate sleeping peacefully in his favorite potted plant (a low hanging pot that was filled with blue wildflowers and rich black dirt bathed in sun rays all day long) with a fond smile. He knew for a fact that their mate barely, if ever, slept as much as he should. The younger man had too much responsibility on his shoulders to really take care of himself. But the agent only saw this as an opportunity to prove they could take care of their mate.   
  
Q had been sleeping a lot during the last days. He had also passed a lot of time in his animal skin, and that was another thing James was sure the younger man didn't do enough. He had understood that Q was an animal born, like Alec, which meant he was more comfortable in his animal skin thana human born. But judging by the reluctance the younger man had shown at revealing his animal skin, the blond man was sure his mate didn't spent as much time as he should in his animal skin. He remembered the month Alec had been forced to stay in his human skin because of a serious injury and shuddered at the thought. It had been horrible. The other man had been cranky, angry, and difficult to deal with. Alec had spent that month scratching at his skin, feeling trapped in his own skin and whimpering that he needed his freedom. As an human born, James hadn't understood the feeling, but now it worried him that it might have been alienating for the younger man to have to spend so much time in his human skin without the possibility to change.  
  
"You’re worrying too much again, old man." Something must have shown on his face as Alec came to snuggle against him, wearing nothing but sweatpants. They were much more tactile with each other on their territory, and the agent leaned into the embrace, nodding. "What were you worrying about now?"  
  
"His animal skin. I remember how it was for you to spend a month without being allowed to change." He felt Alec shiver against him at the memory and patted the other man’s arm in comfort.   
  
"Ugh, that was a nightmare. Worsethan the torture in Tuscon last year."  
  
"They broke all your fingers and waterboarded you for hours."  
  
"Yeah,worsethan that!" That didn't reassure the agent as he looked at their sleeping mate once more. Alec followed his gaze and sighed, snuggling closer. "He's stronger than he looks, this one... stronger than me. I just assume I'll always be able to change, so I go insane when I can't. He knows all his changes are a gift and enjoys all of them as such, so he doesn't see not being able to change as torture."  
  
"Since when are you this observant?"

Alec shrugged and gave him a mischievous smile, kissing his forehead.  
  
"It just shows on his face, believe me, he doesn't care. He's comfortable in either skin." He mustn't have look completely convinced as the blond looked back at his packmate, because Alec pinched his side and bite his earlobe. "Mother hen, you’re terrible."  
  
"We just got him, I don't want to loose him now." Like he had lost Vesper, like he had lost M, like he had lost his parents... like he always lost everyone in his life. But he didn't need to say any of it out loud. Alec knew, he always knew him best. Alec would never leave him, because they were a pack, they had always assumed that if one died the other would follow. There had never been any illusion on either of their mind. They were killers balancing one another – if one died the other would be hunted by MI6, because the surviving member of their pack would turn feral. James had almost gone the feral route after Vesper and they had almost both plunged into it after M. Having Q in their life offered them both an alternative they had never thought they could have. Having Q meant balance, but it also meant that if one of them died, the other would have a purpose to go on. The death of one didn't mean the death of the other anymore. However if something ever happened to the younger man, there would be nothing but darkness in their future. It was the scariest and most amazing part of a werewolf finding a worthy mate.   
  
"We won't or the world will burn."

James chuckled, nodding. They were assassins, insane man paid to create chaos – may the world take pity on anyone who would try to take away their mate.   
  
They both stayed there looking at their mate, in their territory, safe and theirs.

  
_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_

  
Alec was lazing on the sofa enjoying the sun on his skin as he watched James and Q snuggled next to each other on the other end of the large sofa. The younger man was eating berries from a bowl he had given him earlier, sitting comfortably on the other agent’s lap. James, for his part, had a hand possessively placed over the smaller man’s leg and was reading a book with the other. Alec had tangled his legs with Q and was playing footsy with him as the younger man made faces at him every time he found a ticklish spot. They were a tangle of limbs and laziness and it was absolutely perfect.   
  
" _Krolik_ , berry." He opened his mouth, silently daring the younger man to shot a berry into his mouth as he was too comfortable to move closer. Q rolled his eyes and kept on eating his berries. Alec closed his mouth into a pout and poked at the smaller man with his feet. "Please, _Krolik_."  
  
"That..." Q pointed at his pout with a very unimpressed look on his face. "Isn't in any way attractive or convincing."  
  
"Hey, I'm extremely attractive! Ask the old man!" Both him and Q turned to James who looked at them both over his book with slightly raised eyebrows. His icy gaze went from one to the other slowly, and he shrugged, going back to his book.  
  
"Q will always be more attractive than you." The younger man blushed slightly and smiled shyly. It was new for both of the agents to see the younger man show his emotions so openly, and they appreciated every sighting of them. What was less pleasing was to see Q pick a red berry and feed it to James, who hummed happily and licked the smaller man’s finger in a truly porn-deserving fashion.  
  
"Good answer, you get a berry."

James kissed the younger man’s fingers once more and the blond man smiled smugly at the werewolf. "Anything for you, love."

 Alec was gaping at the both of them and was completely ignored as Q smiled happily and kept on eating his berries with a slight blush on his cheeks. James sent him another smug look over his book once he was sure their mate wasn't looking and then went back to reading.  
  
"Unfair!" Q looked at him with a raised eyebrow. This time Alec was pouting for real and his pouting was once more answered with an eye roll. With a sigh, Q picked out a berry and held it out toward him, but otherwise didn't lean closer.   
  
"I'm not throwing it, 006." There was challenge in the younger man’s eyes, and Alec’s pout turn into a mischievous smile. Moving ever so slowly to show as much of his muscle and powerful body as he could, he move up and toward the Quartermaster. Crawling toward Q on all fours, he grabbed the younger man’s wrist and bit down lightly on his finger, dragging his tongue over the berry and between the slender fingers, never once looking away from his mate’s green gaze. Once the berry was released into his mouth by a shocked Q, he took his time licking the berry juice off the younger man’s fingers and hummed softly. The blush had moved to cover the entirety of the smaller man’s face, and he had to smile smugly at the reaction he had gotten.   
  
James for his part snorted, clearly not impressed. "Show off."  
  
Alec was about to answer when a new scent caught his nose, and he was growling and on his feet in the next moment. The other agent react a moment later, grabbing Q as he jumped to his feet and placed the smaller man between the two werewolves as they searched for the trespasser that had just entered their territory without permission. They both heard a faint sound coming from the garage, and Alec was ready to change into his animal skin when the door opened. He was stopped as Q escaped them and ran to the intruder smiling.   
  
"Eve!"   
  
"Bear." Alec growled under his breath, not liking having another predatory on his territory and even less one that was now hugging his mate. He was held back by a strong hand on his shoulder and exchanged a look with James as the blond man shock his head. No violence.  
  
Eve had dropped a bag as she hugged Q back and looked at the werewolves over the smaller man’s head with a pleased smile. She knew exactly why they were pissed, but also knew they wouldn’t make a move against her even though she had enter their territory without permission for the simple reason that Q liked her. Still, she knew she was breaking protocol, and pushed the younger man away with a reassuring smile.  
  
"Go reassure your wolves I'm not here to steal you before they try, and fail by the way, to rip my throat out." Q looked back at the wolves and snorted shaking his head. But he still came back to their side, easily accepting their touches. Not liking the smell of bear on his mate, Alec’s wolf demanded that he plaster himself all over the smaller man’s back, and he didn't deny the impulse. Q laughedsoftly, but patted his head and took James’s hand in his other.   
  
"You could have called, Eve." James, the voice of reason when Alec would have been a touch more vulgar and crude in his invitation to leave their territory. The woman smiled, nodding.  
  
"You've had the Quartermaster for your yourselves long enough, we need him back." He couldn't help the little growl that escaped him, but otherwise stayed quiet. "You're already lucky I volunteered to come here. M wanted to send Tanner to retrieve the Quartermaster. I had to point out the very real possibility of a blood bath to dissuade him of that stupid idea."  
  
"Are my minions alright?" Alec smiled fondly, knowing how much Q loved his mundane minions, and he caught James with a similar smile on his face.  
  
"All worried about your wellbeing, but otherwise they’re all fine. They've done a really good job at making sure Q-branch would be ready for your return." The proud smile Q had on his face was just adorable, their mate truly was a caring man... even do he usually tried to hide this little fact quite well.   
  
"How's 004?" James asked. The last news they had had about the agent had been good, but that she was still in medical.  
  
"She's fine, already back to driving M crazy with her intense sugary happiness." Something passed over Eve face as she looked toward Q. "She wanted to come, she needs to talk to you, but won't say about what until she sees you."  
  
"We should..."

 James placed himself between Q and Eve, blocking whatever the younger man had been about to say. Both werewolves knew the Quartermaster would have jumped at the occasion to go back to MI6 right away. "We'll all be in tomorrow morning."

He couldn't see the expression on James’s face, but Eve nodded slowly and with a final smile to Q walked away the same way she had appeared, leaving the bag behind.   
  
"Fine, I'll relay your message to M. Q, sweety, I've brought you some clothes from your flat, I'll see you tomorrow!"

 Alec stiffened at the idea that Eve knew where their mate lived and he didn't, but he calmed himself knowing that Q now lived with them anyway.   
  
"James, what...." The blond man turned and came to complete the sandwich by facing Q while Alec was still plastered to their mate’s back. James looked at both of them, struggle visible on his face, and Q understood. Every instinct in them was clawing for them to keep their mate here, to not let him go back to MI6 where he had been attacked and where they now felt he wouldn't be safe. But they were making an effort, knowing that trying to stop Q from being Q would only end on disaster for all of them. Q, bless his heart, understood this and pulled the blond man closer to him, at the same time molding his back closer against Alec's chest. "One more night and then we'll confront life together."  
  
"Thank you, love."

 


	8. Puzzle of caring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!!!!  
> I swear I'll update more often now that I can actually sit down and write this damn monster.

Alec was restless, unable to find peace in sleep. James, who had curled himself behind Q’s back, was sleeping peacefully (or at least seemed to be), where he himself couldn’t calm his wolf. Every instinct in him was calling for the bite; he wanted and needed to mark his mate if Alec was ever able to allow the younger man to take even one step out of their territory. The conflict came from the fact that he knew that if he followed his instinct he would lose his mate forever and probably Bond in the process. The werewolf couldn’t believe for one moment that James would ever forgive him if he was to drive their mate away from them.

Looking down at Q didn’t help to calm him down at all. The younger man had buried his face against Alec’s chest in his sleep, one hand fisted in the werewolf’s t-shirt, making sure the blond man couldn’t go anywhere, and their legs were tangled together. The few rays of the moon touching the three men showed Q to him as small, fragile, something to protect and care for. With his eyes closed, their mate looked so much younger, his face relaxed in sleep without any lines of worry, and his tangled curls made the younger man look like a fallen angel. There was nothing threatening here, nothing to worry him, nothing to take him away - it would be so much simpler to just keep him here, safe and sound. Softly Alec started to trace his mate’s ear, the one where Q had been bitten, lightly feeling the healed white scar tissue with the tips of his fingers. Alec had no desire to be associated with the man who had force this on their mate; he didn’t want Q to ever fear him or their bond. But his wolf was having none of it, growling and pacing inside his head wanting to claim, to prove that this wonderful creature was theirs and theirs only. The wolf knew that as soon as the sun took over and chased the moon away, Q would once again be away from them. The younger man would be placed back into the very same place where he had been hurt and almost kidnapped not days ago. It was dangerous; it was too unpredictable an environment to calm the more possessive and protective part of the werewolf that demanded he ask for his mate’s complete submission and that the younger man stayed safe.

As Alec’s fingers kept on dancing over the younger man’s ear, his wolf growling and clawing toward the surface ready to claim… long, slender, pale fingers curled around his wrist, stopping his movement. Looking down, Alec was met with piercing green eyes with a devastating calm. Q didn’t say anything, just kept eye contact with the agent and ever so gently placed the blonds hand over his neck, tilting his head to show submissiveness.

This wasn’t something the younger man had ever done for him, but somehow it appeased Alec’s wolf just enough to push away any desire to bite. Q smiled softly, kissing the werewolf’s wrist, and closed his eyes, leaving the blond’s hand on his neck, trusting Alec by letting himself be vulnerable in front of the werewolf. Taking a deep breath, the agent calmed himself and gently squeezed the younger man’s neck, almost expecting him to pull back, to startle or even protest, but Q hummed happily and a small blush touched his cheek.

“ _Oh, krolik,_ ” Alec whispered softly, letting his natural Russian accent take over as a rush of love filled his heart. Releasing his hold, he left his hand on the fragile neck, appeased. His wolf was purring, knowing his mate could show submissiveness, and feeling appeased at the display. It was nothing really, but for someone who had clearly gone thought as much as Q, showing this much trust was a gift.

A strong, darker hand pressed against his, and Alec looked up, catching James’s eyes. The blue-eye man kept his eyes on his partner for a moment, just making sure the Russian was alright, and buried his face back into the tangled mess of dark curls with a huff when Alec smiled at him.

Finally able to sleep, Alec closed his eyes, his hand never moving from where it was resting on Q’s neck and under James’s strong hand.

When the sun forced Alec awake, Q was still there in his arms, the agent’s hand still on the young Quartermaster’s neck, but James had left the bed. Enjoying the moment, Alec allowed himself the pleasure of watching as Q’s eyelashes fluttered opened, green eyes looking up, still filled with sleep. The smaller man mumbled something about coffee and not wanting to move, making the werewolf chuckle at the adorableness of his mate.

“Good morning, krolik,” Alec purred, his rough, callused fingers caressing the slender neck as he heard Bond moving in the kitchen, probably starting the coffee now that Q was awake. “Time to get back to the real world.”

“…Sleep…no.” As if Alec didn’t find his mate adorable enough, Q snuggled closer, hiding his face under the werewolf neck’s, mumbling unhappily. Knowing it was a lost battle; Alec gathered the smaller man closer and without pause rolled off the bed and to his feet, keeping Q in his arms. The Quartermaster yelped in surprise, his hands moving to hold unto the blond’s neck as Alec started walking toward the kitchen.

Alec caught a glimpse of them in the mirror and stopped for a moment, his heart swelling with happiness. Q was only wearing one of Bond’s white shirts; it barely covered anything, showing off Q’s long, pale, muscled legs and a peek at his adorably round ass. But mostly it was the whole picture of Q in his arms, so light to the wolf, still trying to hide his face in the blond’s neck and looking so fragile that had the agent pause. He wanted this everyday, wanted to awake with Q at his side, wanted to be able to carry his mate around their house and have the smaller man pliant in his arms like this every morning.

“If you insist on not allowing me to us my legs, at least have the decency to carry me in the direction of the coffee machine, 006.” With a chuckle and a kiss to the tangled mess that was Q’s hair, Alec started to walk once again.

“Full sentence before your first cup - I’m impressed, _krolik._ ” His morning sarcasms was rewarded with a pinch to the back of his neck that had the blond laughing harder.

When they reached Bond, his partner took one look at the two off them and rolled his eyes, but Alec did see a touch of envy in the older man’s eyes and was sure Q would soon be carried everywhere by the two wolves…if he would only allow it. James handed the smaller man his first cup of coffee, and to Alec’s surprise, Q didn’t asked to be put down, trusting the werewolf to hold him up as he sipped his coffee, both hands around his mug. Kissing Q’s cheek, Bond turned back to the stove, ignoring the two others as Alec made himself comfortable in one of the kitchen chairs, moving his mate carefully until Q was simply sitting on his lap, still sipping his coffee and not saying a word.

They ate in companionable silence, the younger man accepting food from both agents when presented to him and never once requesting his own plate. When all sleepiness finally left the Quartermaster, he looked up, and finding both agents smiling at him, his face turned red and a groan escaped him.

“You two are terrors!” Q left Alec’s lap with a huff, walking back toward their room, probably to take a shower and change. It left the blond feeling empty and cold, but he allowed his mate to leave, knowing Q was mostly trying to hide his embarrassment at having allowed himself to be cuddled.

“Will you be alright?” Alec turned his attention back to his partner, not having realized he had followed Q’s leaving with his gaze, and smiled sheepishly. Clearly Bond had interpreted the blond’s internal struggle of the night correctly.

“Yes…yes. I would much prefer keeping here with us. But MI6 is important to him, just like his role as Quartermaster. He would never forgive either of us if we tried to keep him from either of those. Just like we would go insane without our missions. Q will never ask us to retire, so we can’t ask him to stop being Quartermaster…no matter the danger.”

“That’s very mature of you, A-“

“Not that would be against tying him to the bed and trying to convince him otherwise,” Alec cut in with a mischievous grin. “I have a very convincing mouth.”

Bond shook his head but smiled, ruffling the werewolf’s hair as he passed next to him. “Clean up. I’ve cooked.”

“Yes, sir!” His partner walked away, not commenting, and Alec busy himself with cleaning, knowing they would soon have to leave.

When everything was clean, he ran to their bedroom and leaned against the doorframe, enjoying the view. Q was clad in a pair of jeans that the blond was pretty sure belonged to him - they might have been extra tight on him, but on Q they looked just right. The younger man was wearing another of Bond’s shirt, but a purple one with a grey cardigan that Alec had no idea either agent actually owned, but that Q had clearly found in their wardrobe. The Quartermaster was busy tying Bond’s tie and making sure 007 looked like the devastatingly handsome agent all of MI6 expected him to be while the blue-eyed wolf tried to untangled the smaller man’s curls. It was such a domestic scene that the blond felt his heart swell with happiness. Q saw him from the corner of his eyes and beckoned him closer.

“Yes, love?” Alec purred softly when Q rolled his eyes at him.

“Shower, now! Your clothes are already on the bed.” Peeking at the bed he indeed found that his clothes had been put out for him and he couldn’t help himself when he pulled Q away from Bond and into a heated kiss.

“Thank you, if we weren’t in a hurry I’d let you dress me up…or, you know, undress you and…”

“Shower, now!” Q cut him off, his neck flushed. With another quick kiss, Alec ran to obey the command, grabbing his clothes on the way. He did peek over his shoulder at the last minute to see Bond smiling at Q and pulling the smaller man back into his arms, asking for his own morning kiss.

Once showered and clothed, Alec placed his dog tags around Q’s neck while Bond did the same with his watch, and they moved to the garage as one. Since the weather was so nice, Alec moved toward his favorite motorcycle and was surprised to find Q next to him when he turned around. Bond seemed just as surprised, leaning against his car with a frown.

“Q?”

The younger man gave a long-suffering sigh. “When’s the last time Bond ever came back with the car assigned to him?” The two agents exchange a long look, and at the scowl on his partner’s face, Alec started laughing. “My point exactly.”

“Alright, alright, love, you’ve got a point.” Adjusting a helmet on his mate’s head and making sure it was secure, Alec waited until the younger man had installed himself comfortably behind him with his long arms around the agent’s waist and started the engine. As he passed next to Bond, he wiggled his eyebrows. “Race you to headquarters?”

They both heard the squeak of protest from Q, but Bond smiled back at him and Alec zoomed out of the garage hearing his partner’s motors start and the squeal of tires on pavement. On the open road, they raced each other, still very careful of their precious mate, but enjoying themselves greatly until they reach the city where the blond lost his partner in the traffic.

Arriving in the MI6 underground garage, Alec cut off the engine and waited for the chewing out he would definitely get for their little stunt, but nothing came. He felt Q’s arm shake around his waist and had e moment of panic, before he heard the soft laughter. Turning around, he pulled up the visor from Q’s helmet to see a smiling Quartermaster.

“Terrors, the both of you.” Alec was too stunned to move as Q disembarked from the bike and gave the agent his helmet. Making sure no one was around, the younger man pulled at the agent’s collar and pressed a soft, close-mouth kiss to the blond’s lips. “Thanks for the ride.”

Q walked away still laughing, and when Bond joined his partner in the garage, he looked at the blond with raised eyebrows in a silent question. “I think I’m in love.” Alec mumbled still dazed.

James chuckled and walked away, following the Quartermaster’s footstep. Shaking himself out of his stupor, the agent followed the blue-eyed man

 

_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_0067Q_

 

Q made a detour to Q-branch, having already been advised that 004 was waiting for him in one of the interrogation rooms, but he wanted to make sure his minions were alright. The moment he entered the branch, all of his minions flocked to him, not touching, but asking a thousand questions, making sure their fearless leader was alright.

Contrary to popular belief, Q-branch could survive without its Quartermaster, but it was nice to see his precious minions had really made him proud and kept everything running in his moment of crisis. With great patience, he answered their questions, both about his health and about some technical problem that had arisen in his absence. He was already making a mental list of all he would need to do and their priorities, when he noticed his two agents had followed him down to Q-branch. They were both staying out of the way, letting Q handle his minions, he did, however, notice one of his underlings approaching the werewolves and whispering something the younger man didn’t catch before he was reminded that 004 needed his attention.

Asking that all remaining questions and pressing matters be emailed to him, the young man walked away, noticing the frowns on his agents’ faces as his underling pointed toward the end of the corridor, but it didn’t seemed pressing enough for Q to keep on ignoring 004.

When he entered the interrogation room it was to find the small agent up on the table placing sickly pink bubble gum over the camera and microphone in the corner of the room. “Agent, are you damaging my ridiculously expensive material?”

“Q!” Not bothering to answer the accusation about her vandalism, the small fairy jumped down from the table and enveloped the Quartermaster into a hug, sighing in relief. “I’m so happy you’re alright.”

Hugging his agent back, allowing her to take her comfort, Q waited until 004 pulled back and handed her some blue sugarcoated licorice automatically. It was a habit now to feed the fairy candy every time he saw the agent, and from the smile on 004’s face, she was delighted that he had remembered to bring her sweets. They moved to sit side by side on the table she had pushed in the corner of the room, and Q waited until the agent was done with her licorice before probing her for the information she had gathered. “So, 004, why…”

The small being leaned against him and took in a deep breath, her eyes closed in concentration. When she pulled back she was frowning and looking at Q with a mix of relief and confusion. “You don’t smell like him at all.” His heart skipped a beat and Q felt like ice was running through his veins at the implication in his agent’s statement. “He did. He smelled like you. It wasn’t an overall strong scent but it was there nonetheless.”

“What? 004, what are you talking about?” The fairy looked away, searching her words, as the young man felt like his word was shattering. “004?”

“I didn’t see him. I was blindfolded when he came to torture me.” The torture was mentioned as if she was talking about a walk in the park, and for now Q ignored it, but made a note to refer his agent to an MI6 therapist later on. “His voice was very soothing, very calming as he…did what he did. But what completely confused my senses was your smell.”

“I don’t understand. I wasn’t there. How could my smell still be mixed with his?”

004 gave the Quartermaster a careful look and slowly reached to uncover his ear that had been bitten off, her eyes going round.

“He said it was there and on your back.” Q shuddered at the mention of his scar-covered back as realization hit him. He looked at his agent in horror. “He’s bonded to you.”

“It impossible! I never…we never…I’m not bonded to him!”

004 nodded, taking hold of her Quartermaster’s hand as his usual calm demeanor started to crack around the edges.

“You’re not, but he is,” she said softly.

“But it should have dissolved with time, the bonding was never completed…if he kept it open for so long he should be…” It was impossible. The younger man might not know much about bonding, but he did know that an unrequited bond would fester and destroy the mind of the solo holder of the bond.

“Insane? Believed me, he is.” She waited until the hunted look left the Quartermaster before continuing. “He wanted to use me as bait to get you to come to him. He’ll do anything to get you back.”

“Have you told M?”

“No.”

This was bad; very extremely bad. An insane man was out there trying to get to MI6’s Quartermaster, thinking he owned Q, and would kidnap and threaten any of his agents to get to him. He was grateful that 004 had kept the information to herself, but it showed where his agent’s loyalty lay, and it might be that very loyalty that would get his agents in danger.

“But I’ll have to soon. M knows I’m hiding something.”

“Of course, yes, you’ll have to tell him…just, could you allow me some time before you do?” 004 accepted readily, still protecting her Quartermaster over the loyalty she should have held for the head of MI6. “Thank you.”

“Q?”

He hummed softly, trying to arrange his thought as his face fell into his impassive mask, burying his fears behind unfeeling eyes. He couldn’t place his agents and MI6 in danger; this was his burden he couldn’t wait until his past destroyed his future and a plan was slowly forming in his mind, giving him some hope.

“Q?”

“Yes, I’m sorry, 004. What is it?”

She looked him straight in the eyes, holding his gaze, resolve all over her face. “Lean on us. You’re not an agent, you’re not stupid, so please, before doing what that brain of yours concocted, remember we are here for you.” This startled Q. Yes, he had his agents, his werewolves, his minions, he wasn’t alone anymore…hadn’t been for a long time, and he couldn’t form a plan without thinking of them.

“I won’t. Thank you for your loyalty, 004.”

“You’re the best Quartermaster MI6 as ever had Q, I’m not ready for you to be replaced.” With a smile of gratitude Q nodded to the fairy and walked out with her, quickly sending a message to one of his minions to come and un-gum the interrogation room.

As they walked back into Q-branch, still lost in his though, Q looked as he heard 004 laughing. Searching the reason for her laughter, his eyes fell on his two werewolves wearing flowery aprons, yellow plastic gloves, and plastic buckets exiting his office.

Oh! His office doors had locked behind them after the accident and…well, no one had had the courage to destroy the door and encounter the rage of two of the scariest agent in all of MI6. Bond and Alec looked up as they gave the buckets to the underling (who had been talking to them moments before) and pulling off their gloves came to stand before the younger man, still wearing their aprons like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Everything alright, Quartermaster?” 007 asked softly, searching Q’s face, his eyes filled with worry. It settled something inside the younger man, and he was able to smile at the older wolf, nodding.

“I know it would be better to only be wearing our aprons and nothing else, but Eve said she would castrate me if I removed even one piece of clothing,” Alec piped in, pouting as Eve walked in, glaring at him in warning.

“Q?” Bond looked really worried now as the Quartermaster stayed silent. Even 006 started losing his smile, getting worried himself.

“I’m fine, 007 and 006, this is Q-branch not a strip club, so please do refrain from divesting yourself.” His snarky tone relaxed both agents, and even 004 seemed calmer, keeping an eye on the younger man. He would be alright, he had people he need to protect now. Q wasn’t alone anymore and it was time to fight his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My beta is an angel that as way to much patience with me and should want my death.
> 
> Also special thanks to Cheshire6 for reminding of the office thingy. :")
> 
> OH! and 001 (Sherlock/dragon) is coming back because damn prick is annoying the hell out of me....and jonh.


	9. Puzzle of emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! 2 updates in one week I'm so impress with myself and my ever so patient Beta.  
> John Watson was not suppose to be in here, but here he is nonetheless.

As it turned out, trying to fight his past was made harder by unwanted feelings and surging panic attacks. It at already been two days, two days where every time the younger man tried to approach one his werewolves about the bite that would complete the bond between them, he faltered and wasn’t able to get the words out.

It always started the same way. As soon as he convinced himself that he was ready to accept the bite, he marched toward whichever wolf was present, usually Bond. It wasn’t that Q didn’t trust Alec, but when it came to restraining the wolf’s wilder side, 007 had always shown better control over his most primal urges (actually, if he thought about it, except for a brief glimpse, Q had never seen Bond in his wolf skin). The moment the Quartermaster opened his mouth, ready to ask or even simply formulate the idea of receiving the bite, his words got caught in the back of his throat and he felt like they were choking him, robbing him of his breath. Q would go pale, his breathing coming out stunted and short, his vision slowly going black, and his hands started shaking in panic. Every time he had tried, which now made three, Bond didn’t say a word, didn’t ask any questions, simply moved to Q and enveloped him in a tight embrace, murmuring sweet nothings in the smaller man’s ears until he had calmed down. When Alec had been present the second time, the agent had turned into his wolf skin in panic, and they had all curled up on the sofa in their home, giving Q all the silent comfort they could provide.

His agents weren’t brainless jocks, like most people thought double-oh agents were. Q knew they must have figured out why he was now plagued with panic attacks at the mere thought of sharp teeth anywhere on his person. They, however, gave him his space and allowed the younger man to deal with his issues, not pushing for an explanation or trying to make a bad situation worse by having him talk about his past, which wouldn’t help the situation one bit. They were good to him, patient with him, understanding of his past, and…somehow it made it worst for Q.

So when on the third day he entered his office to find Eve sitting on his sofa twirling a key she had probably stolen from one of the wolves between her fingers, he exploded. All the emotions he had kept at bay, all the insecurities he had kept inside, all the fears that had bubbled up with the announcement that his ex was still bonded somehow to him came crashing out, and his mind unraveled to all the worst case scenario that had appeared in his mind since the return of 004. It was a mess between shouting, heaving, and some tears of frustration escaped him as Eve stayed seated, taking it all in until there was nothing else to say. Q found himself crowded between the back of the sofa and Eve, all out of words and breathing slowly as his mind pulled itself back together.

“I don’t understand what I have to fight for…or even if I should,” he said softly, letting out the biggest fear that had crept up on him in those two days of hell. “What am I even bringing to them that’s worth fighting for?”

“What do you mean, love?” Her voice was so soft, so gentle, he hands caressing his hair and keeping him calm.

“They feed me, they make sure I’m safe, that I’m happy…hell! They cleaned my office to make sure I wouldn’t have to see the blood I lost when I was almost kidnapped! They take care of me and spoil me with attention…and I don’t do anything for them.” When he got no answer he looked up to see Eve looking at him with wide eyes and her mouth slightly open.

“Oh, Q, you really don’t know anything about what a healthy bond brings to its bonded. Sweety, you’re not even fully bonded with them and I can see the difference in those two wolves of yours.” When the younger man just kept on staring at her, she sighed. “You bring them stability; you are the only thing in the world stopping them from going completely feral. Without you they would have gone insane by now and would have been hunted down by MI6, or worst, 001.”

“But I don’t _do anything_ ,” Q said firmly.

“All those things you say they do for you, all this attention you allowed them to spend on you, all those time you allowed them to feed you, clothe you, and as you put it, spoil you. That is what they need.” Now Q was truly confused and it must have showed on his face because Eve kissed his forehead and a small laugh escaped her. “Werewolves need a mate to protect, someone they can provide for, someone that challenges them and reminds them of their humanity, a counterbalance to their feral side.”

“But that’s easy,” Q said with a small pout. His friend shook her head with a frown like he had just said the most stupid thing she had ever heard.

“No, it’s not! I could never have someone depending on me like that, especially not two needy wolves. You allowed them to be clingy and protective, while at the same time being your own man. They know they can’t push you around, but they also listen to you and take your opinion seriously.”

“But…”

“Q, it seems easy and natural to you because you are their mate. No one else could replace you and no one else could ever give them the stability they crave. They might be imbeciles, but they know this, and must be terrified at the idea of not having you at their side.” Q took a moment to take this all in, to really see the situation he was in from Eve’s perspective. She gave him the time he needed, staying there for him until he nodded slowly.

“But I still can… What happens if my fears won’t allow me to accept the bite and complete the bond? They would never force it on me…but I can feel their need to mark me growing stronger with each passing day.” Eve sighed, frowning; this was something she couldn’t help him with. She knew his past, knew what he had gone through, and from where his issues came.

“In the old times, there probably was some magic or spell to bond supernatural creatures together, but those have been lost a long time ago.” Q hummed softly…stopping suddenly when his brain practically punched him with the answer to his dilemma. Sitting up, startling Eve in he process, Q climbed over her and ran to his computer.

“Q?” Eve called to him, worried.

“001.” He said, simply pulling out the video feed he had from the dragon’s cave and letting out a frustrated sound when he found it empty. Eve was at his side in an instant, looking over his shoulder as Q tracked down the agent’s mobile, praying the stubborn being had it on him. With a shout of victory he sent the location to his own mobile. “If someone remembers anything about those spells, it would be him.”

Grabbing his coat, the younger man ran out of his office, ignoring Eve’s shout behind him. He caught a glimpse of Bond and Alec walking toward his office from the other direction, and stopped when they seemed alarmed at seeing him run out with his coat on.

“I’m going to see 001, my mobile is fully charged, and I’ll keep the locator on so that I can be tracked down at any moment,” he stated calmly, and to his surprise both agents calmed down, their shoulders relaxing. Thinking back on what Eve had told him about the stability he brought to his wolves, he understood what she had meant. Not everyone would appreciate having to explain where they were going if they were leaving alone. Not everyone would have the patience to calm down easily panicked agents, and not everyone would allow having a tracking device on his or her person so their mate could find them at any time. With a smile he walked quickly to his wolves, and keeping an eye out not to be seen by his minions, pulled them in a tight hug, enjoying the way Bond kissed his forehead while Alec took his scent in his nose buried in his curls. “If I’m not back in three hours, you are allowed to track me down.”

“I’m still going to track you down every step of the way, _krolik_ ,” Alec mumbled in his hair. There was no surprise there, so Q shrugged.

“Call us if you need anything. We’ll be waiting for your return here. Alec has some paperwork he needs to complete, and I’ll be at the shooting range later on,” Bond said easily. When Q stepped back, 007 squeezed the wrist where his watch was once before letting go, and Alec gently pressed against the dog tags resting under Q’s clothes.

Eve came out of the office and Alec narrowed his eyes at her. “Did you steal my Q-key?”

Q didn’t hear his friend’s reply as he walked away feeling a little lighter. He could see the light at the end of the tunnel, could see a glimpse of hope where before there had only been fear and darkness.

Keeping track of 001 on his phone, Q jumped into a taxi and gave the driver the approximate address to find the wandering dragon. Looking out the window, the younger man allowed a small hope to take place in his heart. He didn’t believe for one moment that everything would be solved that easily, but if an answer could be found, he truly hoped the dragon would be its bearer.

As the taxi came to a stop, Q came out of his thoughts and paid before stepping out. He had been expecting to find the dragon in a park or even wandering the street. But he was now faced with yellow tape, police cars, and news reporters from all side. Checking his phone once again, the younger man frowned, moving toward the location indicated and was stopped as he reached the yellow tape by a glaring black woman.

“No reporters allowed!” she barked at him, and Q tilted his head, taking in her scent. She wasn’t a mundane, there was a distinct smell mostly covered with men’s soap and deodorant that had him wrinkling his nose. A skunk.

Taking a step back to get away from the scent, Q looked a little farther away and spotted 001. The tall being was standing over a body, his hands moving all around and clearly speaking a mile a minutes, alto Q couldn’t hear a word. To the tall being’s left stood a man with salt-and-pepper hair that was patiently listening to the dragon and nodding along as he took notes. From the little Q could see of the man, he didn’t seem like a mundane, but the younger man couldn’t pinpoint what kind of supernatural the man might be. Just behind the graying man, another one was standing. The man was weasel-looking and facing the wall so he wasn’t looking at 001, with his arms crossed. The moment the weasel-looking man tried to turn around, the dragon snapped at him and pointed at the scowling man with an accusing finger. The remaining man completing the little group was a small blond man standing to the side. He didn’t look like a police officer or a coroner, wearing street clothes and smiling fondly as his gaze remained on 001. When the dragon cast his attention on the blond, his expression turned softer, and he seemed to actually take what was explained to him by the smaller man into consideration before turning back to the corpse… This was interesting.

Interesting, but not the reason why Q was here, so he moved back closer, but the moment he reached the tape, the skunk skin-changer was back to glaring at him and tried pushing him back. For once in his life the fact that the needed to keep his status as MI6 Quartermaster a secret (for his own security, but still) truly annoyed him. So as calmly as he could he smiled at her and pointed to the agent. “Would you be so kind as to tell the tall gentleman over there that I would like a word with him?”

She looked over her shoulder and sneered with disgust when her gaze landed on 001. “The freak! Why?”

Startled at the hatred in her voice, Q took a moment to look at the woman. She was still sneering and her eyes were filled with disgust. He knew not everyone got along with the dragon, but still, he had never seen such a reaction to 001. “I have some business to attempt to with him, if you could simply call him over.”

“Business? What business? The freak finally killed someone?” Q frowned in confusion. Of course 001 had killed peoples, he was a dragon, and what else did she expect from a creature with a truly impressive violence tendency and a very short temper? Still, it wasn’t her business, and he didn’t have the time to explain to her the natural instinct a dragon had to kill anything that annoyed them. “You got some dirt on him?”

The glimmer of pure greed that filled her eyes at the idea of having anything over 001 had Q sneering at the woman in contempt. He was tired of dealing with the skunk skin changer and had absolutely no desire to keep on talking to her anymore. So, taking a step to the side, the younger man took in a deep breath and shouted, “GRANDFATHER!”

The woman jumped back, startled, as all eyes turned to him and the buzzing that had been surrounding the crime scene died down. The grey haired man looked around, confused, as the small blond frowned, but both startled in surprise when their attention fell back on the dragon.

The tall being’s attention was solely focused on the younger man, a huge happy smile adorning the dragon’s face as he jumped over the body and skipped happily over to his grandson, his smile never diming. With an elegant twist that was reminiscent of ballet, the being slipped under the yellow tape and gathered the Quartermaster in his arms. All the police officers around them looked on in shock, some of them going so far as to take out their mobile to snap a quick picture, all looking on as if 001 hugging someone and smiling was the weirdest thing they had ever seen.

“Grandson! What a delightful surprise, is it time for me to end the life of your wolves yet?” The dragon’s voice was singsong and filled with happiness, just as usual when he was in the presence of the smaller man. The skunk skin changer was looking from Q to 001 with a traumatized expression on her face, but he ignored her and looked back to the dragon.

“No, this is not the point of this visit, grandfather. Would you have a moment to talk?” Q was looking back at the body, not really wanting to have more information than necessary as to what exactly 001 was doing in his spare time. The tall being looked over his shoulder and shrugged, clearly having lost interest in the whole thing.

“Oh that! I have given them all the hints they could hope for to solve the murder short of giving them the murderer on a platter. If they cannot figure it out by themselves, I’ll text Lestrade the answer.” With that the dragon draped a possessive arm over the Quartermaster’s shoulders and started to lead him away from the crime scene and down the street. “Are you hungry? If my memories serve me right there is a delightful little French bistro not too far.”

Q nodded, still a little confused, but followed along as 001’s long stride lead them farther and farther away from the buzzing of the crime scene. Once they reached the small bistro that was truly quite small and remote, they settled at a table outside. As usual, his grandfather ordered for him (a large milk coffee in a bowl and some pastries) and they waited until the waiter had brought their order before Q broached the subject of magical bonding.

The dragon listen to him in silence, his face remaining blank as Q gave as much details as he cared to. When he was done talking, he started sipping at his coffee bowl and tasted an almond pastry. The dragon’s eyes were unfocused, looking back on his life and sorting through his memories, trying to find something that might help the younger man. As he waited, Q glimpsed something surprising in the window of the French bistro and looked over his shoulder to see the small blond man from the crime scene sitting not too far from them. The man smiled at him in a polite manner and went back to sipping his own coffee and reading a journal.

“He’s a mundane,” Q stated flatly, making the whole discovery that they had been followed all the more surprising. The man was up wind from them and the younger could smell the usual human, fleshy, boring smell that seemed to cling to mundanes. “How long as he been following us?”

“Hum? Oh John, he’s been there all along.” 001 waved at the man with a little affectionate smile and turned back to his grandson. “I usually share his flat when I do not need to spend the night in my cave. He is very accommodating of my whims that way.”

Well, that was extremely surprising. Dragons were rarely comfortable around mundane, usually more prone to eat them than to share a living space.

“Does he know what you are?” It was greatly improbable that a human would willingly share his living accommodation with a fire-breathing beast.

“No. He does suspect my supernatural nature, but contrary to those morons at Scotland Yard, he does not believe my lie of being an extremely smart mundane.” Well that explained the reason why the skunk woman had called 001 a freak. Now that he paid attention to it, Q did realize that he couldn’t smell the usual scent of smoke and sulfur that usually clung to the dragon. His grandfather smiled at his confusion. “A little trick given to me by a phoenix to hide my scent and allow me to pass as a human.”

“Fascinating,” Q said slowly, looking back at the blond man.

“Yes, he is a fascinating human indeed.” The younger man looked closely at the dragon, not pointing out that he had been referring to the scent masking. 001 was looking at the blond with a small dreamlike smirk and a sort of fondness in his gaze that was usually turned toward Q. Fascinating indeed.

“As to your little dilemma, I do believe I remember a spell to allow the bond to form upon one of the bonded, but it is made of very strong magic, and if not accepted, the bond would kill the bearer.” Q nodded slowly. He truly hadn’t been looking for an easy fix, but this was a little more dangerous than expected. “Do you still wish for me to find the spell?”

“…Yes. I’m not saying I’ll use it or even ask that you perform it…but I would like to have it on hand if the need arises.”

The old being nodded, agreeing. “As you wish.” Q smiled at his grandfather, grateful, and they finish their drinks and talked about other MI6 agents’ missions and the dragon’s general disdain of werewolves. Just as they were talking about 004’s returns, they heard a sound from behind them and turned to see the blond move to his feet and stretch.

“I’m going home. Should I pick up some take-out at Angelo’s?” It was an elegant way to ask if 001 would be sharing a meal with the blond. The old being smiled and turned his attention back to Q with raised eyebrows.

“I’m expected back soon, go ahead. Thank you for your assistance, grandfather, I’ll be in touch soon.” The dragon kissed the younger man’s forehead lightly and moved to the small blond’s side with a fond expression on his face. The human smiled back, rolling his eyes.

“You’re done being a prick and ignoring me now?”

“I wasn’t ignoring you, I knew perfectly well where you were.” The Dragon said as he moved to his feet. “As Lestrade figure out who the killer is yet?”

“Of course not you big goof, so text him the answer while we walk. I’m starving, come on move along!” 001 rolled his eyes, but nodded as the blond reached to replace the scarf around the dragon’s neck, and they walked away side by side, arms touching like the proximity was more intimate than holding hands.

Q watched the odd pair as they walked away, still not sure how those two seemed to balance each other so well. But as the tall being and the small blond walked away, Q smiled. They seemed happy together, and although it wasn’t usual for a dragon to take a human companion, 001 was never one to follow convention.

Stretching himself, Q started to walk back toward MI6, hoping to find a taxi once he left the smaller street. He was walking along a small street when he felt a presence at his side and jumped in surprise as Alec slipped next to him, the wolf’s strong arm going around his small waist and pulling the Quartermaster against him.

“It’s been exactly three hours, and you said to track you down after three hours, _krolik_.” Before Q could say anything his hand was taken in a strong grip on his other side and he turned to see Bond now walking next to him, holding his hand firmly.

“He wouldn’t stay still, so I allowed him to track you down…he was scaring your minions with his frustrated growling,” 007 explained in a clam voice. Looking from one agent to the other, Q couldn’t help himself when he started laughing at how ridiculous his wolves were.

“It’s quite alright, James; I was on my way back.” Q gently squeezed the frosty blue-eyed wolf’s hand to reassure him that the younger man didn’t mind having been tracked down by a frustrated Trevelyan. At least Alec had been able to restrain himself for the three hours Q had asked for, and it was truly appreciated.

“Because you missed us?” Alec asked with mischief in his voice. Q rolled his eye and pulled Bond closer as they waited at a corner for the light to turn green and rested his head on 007’s shoulder.

“Yes, 006, because I missed you.” Q didn’t protest when the blond stole a kick kiss and even chuckled when Bond did the same just as the light was changing color. Yes, in a way he had really missed them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are always loved.
> 
> I hope I get to update soon because drama is on its way.


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